More one shots
by broomstick flyer
Summary: Another assortment of stories that never got past the initial idea, some are Okay others maybe a little better, I hope you enjoy them all.
1. Chapter 1 I'm only seventeen

Disclaimer they are not my characters.

I'm only Seventeen years old

Harry Potter awoke to find himself in a four poster bed in the Gryffindor dorm; it was several seconds before he remembered the events of the previous day. As he rolled over to reach for his glasses his body gave him a painful reminder of his encounter with Voldemort in the forbidden forest. Memories of the day he gave his life for others poured through his mind, resting on his encounter with the dead Dumbledore. Harry decided right then that people like Rita Skeeter and Dolores Umbridge should no longer be allowed to cause the discord and heart break that until now the Wizarding communities had allowed them to get away with, he promised himself that he would do all in his power to make sure that the future would be so much better than the past, he would work towards making the wizarding society a place to be happy, a place where corruption and greed would be fought against and stamped out as far as was possible.

Harry rolled out of the bed and with his stiff and bruised body retaliating against the movement by causing numerous pains even in places he never realised could hurt, he slowly made his way down to the common room. A slight cough caught his attention as he pushed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose, his bruised frame felt uncomfortable as he looked at the three women who stood by the fire place.

Minerva McGonagall the true headmistress of Hogwarts, Harry remembered her anguished cry when Voldemort had declared him dead and displayed his body for all to see. Poppy Pomfrey the school healer, who even as he looked on, was casting diagnostic and healing spells over his bruised body.

Harry held out his arms to the third woman, tears dripped down his still dirt covered cheeks when he saw her face erupt into a huge smile.

"Hermione," was all he could manage before she had thrown herself into his open arms. The kiss he gave her told her he had forgiven her for leaving him to be with Ron, for the pain he had been put through when she had kissed their other friend. For a moment he thought his heart might burst with happiness. Holding her in his arms he realised that the part of Voldemort that had resided in him was gone, taking with it all the anger and depression that had plagued his young life, he was now free to live a happy life.

Another small cough from behind Hermione bought Harry back to reality, still holding onto her he looked at his former professor, a small smile played on his face as he considered the formidable woman.

"Harry! Kingsley has sent a message, there are problems at the Ministry and he needs to talk to you when you are ready," she told him "I told them as soon as Poppy says you are fit to travel…" she stopped talking to wipe a tear from her face before she rushed forward and grabbed him in a tight motherly hug "I'm so proud of you Harry," she whispered before regaining control of her emotions.

Poppy with tears in her eyes cast several healing spells removing the cuts scrapes and bruises that covered most of his body, then she gave him a pepper up potion "You might just need this," she said as she handed it too him, tears falling slowly down her smiling face.

Harry and Hermione followed McGonagall through the damaged corridors of the castle to the headmistress's office. Seconds after arriving in the office the head of the temporary Minister of Magic appeared in the fireplace. "Harry we have chaos here at the ministry, in fact we are practically under siege by hundreds of people, do you think you could come to London and help, I'm worried there might be riots if something isn't done soon."

"What would you want me for, have you forgotten there is a rather large price on my head," Harry asked knowing what the answer would be.

"All that has been dealt with, you're the one that beat him Harry, you're the hero, you're the one they want," Kingsley told him.

"I have a few things to sort out here, people to see, to say thank you too, but we will be there when we can," Harry told the new minister

"You don't really have any choice love, the wizarding world still needs Harry Potter the boy who lived," Hermione said as Kingsley's head retreated from the fire.

Taking Hermione's hand he led the way down to the great hall, telling her as they walked that he was never going to let her go again. He told her of his feelings through all the nights he had spent in the tent with her just a few feet away from him, and how he had been longing to be with her, how the last few hours since he had seen her kiss Ron had been so painful. Hermione explained she had been so pleased that Ron had finally done something useful and that was the only reason she had kissed him, she had not expected Ron to respond the way he did. She now regretted the rash move but Harry had already forgiven her.

There was still a huge crowd in the great hall; total silence fell as they entered hand in hand. The silence lasted no more than a few seconds as all eyes turned on the young couple. Cheers suddenly erupted, even the injured joined in welcoming their unwilling hero. Harry was called on from all sides to give some sort of speech. Nervously he climbed onto what was left of the teachers' platform with Hermione at his side. As he looked down on the tired injured and dusty crowd his knees shook, he had never been happy being in the spotlight and now with so many expectant faces looking up at him he wanted nothing more than to fade into the background. Hermione gave his hand a squeeze and then nudged him gently in the ribs

"You need to say something Harry," she whispered.

Taking a deep breath Harry falteringly began "Ron could you join us up here please."

Once both his best friends were by his side and were giving him reassuring glances Harry started his impromptu speech. "When I first started out on the journey that has brought me to this point in time, I did it because I thought I had no choice. I've learnt over time that I did actually have a choice, I could have ignored the prophesy that said I was the one to end Voldemort's reign of terror. Truth is I wanted to be… I just wanted to live a normal life that is until I fell in love. You may think I'm too young to be in love, but it was being in love and wanting Hermione the girl I love to be able to live her life in peace and happiness that gave me the will to go on even when things got bad. Along side that love there was also the friendship and loyalty of my best friend Ron who was with me through most of it, with out their selfless commitment to helping me we would never have arrived where we are today."

Harry turned to his two friends and with a small bow he said "Hermione Granger with out whose brains and selfless devotion I would probably still be wandering around wondering where to begin. Ron Weasley without whose tactical skill and bravery I would never have survived to get through Hogwarts. So I ask you now to offer these two extraordinarily brave people a vote of thanks."

A huge cheer rent the quiet air and both blushing furiously Ron and Hermione took a bow, then Ron quickly shuffled behind Harry.

"There is just one more thing I want to do here before I leave for the ministry in London," Harry voiced, then turning to Hermione, right there in front of the huge crowd Harry got down on one knee and looked up at her tear filled eyes and asked "Hermione Jane Granger, will you marry me?"

To Ron's utter shock Hermione's answer was a delighted "Yes," as she threw herself into Harry's arms, a resounding cheer rang out that shook the windows around the hall.

The crowds outside the Ministry parted as Harry and Hermione walked hand in hand toward the main entrance of the ministry building, followed by Ron, Neville, Ginny and the remaining members of the DA and the Order of the Phoenix. The cheers began gradually as the witches and wizards realised who was approaching them, by the time Harry reached the entrance the roar of the crowd was deafening. Turning to the crowd Harry tried to talk to them but was almost mobbed by eager people all wanting to touch the boy who lived. The members of the DA surrounded Harry and Hermione forcing the crowd back, Hermione conjured a small podium "Talk to them Harry," she whispered in his ear.

Harry climbed onto the small podium and looked down on the faces of a vast crowd and wondered what he could say to these people who had suffered so much. Casting a sonorous charm on himself Harry held up his arms asking for quiet, it took a few minutes before there was silence then it became the sort of silence that could be heard and felt.

"I just want to ask you all to go home for now, now that Voldemort is gone for good, I promise that we will do all we can to put things right, so that you can once more live in freedom and peace, we just need a little time to rest before the work to rebuild our society begins, so I ask you go home and start living in freedom from tyranny again." after a quick wave Harry led the way into the Atrium of the ministry.

Harry was met by Kingsley who for the first time Harry could ever remember looked flustered. "Thanks for coming Harry; things are getting out of hand here, even the Aurors are refusing to help," Kingsley whispered as they shook hands.

Three hours later Harry was pacing up and down in the minister's office "I just don't believe it. How can they expect me to do the dam job? I'm only Seventeen years old for Pete's sake," Harry yelled for the tenth time.

"Well at the moment we don't have a choice. Thousands of witches and wizards are demanding it; they are coming from all over the country. If you don't do it there will be riots and mayhem," Kingsley said in exasperation.

"Oh yeah it's a brilliant idea. A nearly eighteen year old minister of magic," Harry whispered finally giving up and flopping into a chair.

Hermione was the one to speak up first "Well perhaps you could become co-minister, you and someone that is well known."

So arrangements were made for Harry to become co-minister along with Arthur Weasley. Kingsley was placed as head of the Auror division assisted by the order of the phoenix. Hermione and Ron with some of the prominent DA members, were placed in charge of replacing Voldemort supporters throughout the ministry, Hermione's first and most pleasant task was to have Delores Umbridge arrested for the attempted murder of Harry, use of illegal curses and torture. Even though the idea of sending someone to serve a life sentence in Azkaban was something Hermione thought primitive, she could find no sympathy in her heart for the evil woman who had caused so much pain and suffering. All three Malfoy's were sentenced to serve long terms in Azkaban, Lucius and Narcissa were both given life while Draco got ten years.

Harry and Arthur with the prompting of Hermione disbanded the Wizengamot that had passed so many evil laws, sending many of them to serve terms in Azkaban for assisting the Death Eaters and their cause. Several death eaters were found dead in mysterious circumstances over the next few days. A large number of Voldemort's supporters were handed over to the Auror division or to the Order of the Phoenix by members of the public who were no longer afraid to turn them in.

One month from the day that Harry was sworn in at the ministry he stood in the Atrium facing a large crowd. Harry listened as the new Wizengamot were sworn to a magically binding contract to be fair and just to the best of their abilities. "You have all been chosen by your own communities, from every town and village to serve as members of the new Wizengamot, the people who chose you trust you, so I just want to say, remember where you came from," Arthur Weasley finished before turning to Harry and smiling.

Life at the ministry gradually settled down into a new and peaceful way. Several new laws thought up by Hermione were put in place to protect Muggle borns in the future. Several old laws were repealed. She also oversaw the new liable and slander laws that would now prevent people having to suffer the same sort of thing that both Harry and Dumbledore had had to endure. Rita Skeeter was sent to Azkaban for two years for being an illegal animagus. Harry having spent twelve weeks as a figure head decided it was time to leave Mr Weasley to get on with running things, his departure from the ministry was quiet now that the public knew that they were at last in safe hands.

Job offers for the golden trio arrived from around the world, some offered ridiculous amounts of money. All three teenagers refused all the offers, having decided to ask professor McGonagall if they could return to school to complete their education. Monday morning following their departure from the ministry three owls found Harry and Hermione sitting with Ron and Mrs Weasley in the kitchen of the burrow. Mrs Weasley was a little disappointed that the one big happy family she had hoped for was not to be, but nearly all her family were now safe, in a safe world.

Their Hogwarts letters arrived informing them that although the school was still undergoing repairs they were welcome to return, they were to begin at the start of the next term in their seventh year class. Although Ron was not very happy about how things had turned out for Hermione and him self, he had to admit he had known the truth from the moment he had left them alone in the tent and Hermione had chosen to stay with harry.

Ginny had over the year lost the crush she had on the boy who lived, and had realised she had never actually known the real Harry Potter, she was ready to move on with her life and she was pleased when she discovered she would not have to disappoint Harry when she told him she was over him.

Hermione tried several times to explain to Harry why she had kissed Ron, but in the aftermath of it all she had found it hard to justify the joy she had felt when Ron had finally done something to help them, it was a great relief to her when Harry had forgiven her, especially when she remembered the minutes of the battle when Harry had died and the soul destroying heart ripping pain she had felt when she thought he was dead and she would never get to tell him just how much she loved him, knowing he had gone to his death having seen her kissing Ron as his last memory of his best friends caused her more pain than she imagined was possible, it had been so much more devastating than the cruciatus.

Harry and Hermione were married just before they left for Australia in search of her parents, they were not hard to find, knowing all their likes and dislikes and the suggestions about where they would like to live Hermione had made to them when she changed their memories made it easy to track them down. The three heroes of the wizarding world were shocked when they arrived at Hogwarts on the first of September, they were the only students in a school that was still being rebuilt, all their teachers turned up and with the almost individual tutoring they received they took their N.E.W.T exams half way through the first term.

All three did well, Harry got a few more Outstanding's than Ron, and Hermione got a few more Outstanding's than Harry and with their education complete they were ready to go out and face the world.


	2. Chapter 2 One Word

Disclaimer……….. All characters are the copyright of JK Rowling

One word

Hermione cried like she had never cried before. She sat up naked in her bed, her breast that had been awaiting his touch bounced gently in time with her sobs, her body that just moments ago had been full of desire for him was now cringing, her heart that had loved him for so long, now filled with fear of losing what she had so desperately wanted and longed for, for so many years. The realisation of just how badly she had screwed things up, hit her in her heart like a speeding bullet. "I'm in love with you, no one else matters," she sobbed.

"I can't do this," he said as tears ran freely down his face.

She was at a loss, with all the brain power she possessed she had not foreseen the scene that was now playing out in front of her. A sudden popping sound brought her from her mindless search for unseen answers in the unused bed sheets, she looked up but he was gone, and her heart felt like it was being ripped apart.

Thoughts of the past flew through her mind, thoughts of how she had hidden her feelings for him for so long, now stabbed at her already breaking heart.

She remembered all the things he had done to show her he cared, things that had she looked just a little closer would have proved his real love for her, but she had refused to accept those things were anything but the acts of a best friend, a best friend she was no longer sure she had. Memories of his words that night echoed painfully through her mind.

"I've always loved you, when he humiliated you or called you names, I was always there for you. When he argued with you and made you cry, I was always there for you. When he hurt you, I was there for you. I never belittled you. I never tried to anger you. I always told you how great you are, I was always there for you. I tried to show you how much I cared. Yet you chose him, you chose him without a thought to my feelings, you kissed him and held him even when he hurt you, and it broke my heart each time. All I ever did was to show you love, and you ignored it. You chose him to give your body too. You chose him to take away your innocence. How am I supposed to get past that, if he were some one I don't know, it might have been ok, but how can I do this while you compare me with him."

For the first time in her life she wished with all that was in her that she could turn back time, to call back the one word that had just shattered her life. She knew the minute she heard him leave he would never come back. She had broken his heart with just one simple word, one slip of her stupid tongue. She cursed the day she ever heard that word.

She saw her memories of him, the times he had so often saved her life, memories of the times he had sat keeping a vigil at her bedside. The times when she had been injured and he had always been the first one to help her or to take her to the hospital wing. She remembered the tears in his eyes when ever she was hurt, she remembered the look of love and tenderness in his eyes when he had consoled her so very often. All the signs of his love were there but she had ignored them, and now when she had discovered the truth he was gone, she might never see him again.

She remembered the happiness of every day of the past month, from the day he had finally said the words she longed to hear "I love you, I always have,"

She remembered the blissful days when they had held hands kissed and fondled each other, the entire month had been her dreams come true, she was with the man she loved at long last, in the arms she had so often dreamt of holding her. She remembered the love that had filled every minute she had spent with him in the last four wonderful weeks, and the warm embraces that said so much more than words could, and now it had all collapsed around her.

She remembered the evening, how they had shared food from each others forks, how they had laughed and smiled, how he had walked her home and the fluttering feelings she had had when she invited him in. She remembered how that night she had wanted to make love with a passion she had never felt before. She knew he was the one, that making love with him was going to be right. She remembered his nervousness and his embarrassment when he admitted he had never slept with anyone before. She remembered the warm feeling she had felt when she realised he had saved himself because he loved her, the over powering feeling of love she felt to know she was the reason he never dated anyone else.

Then she remembered that stupid word. She wondered how the fates could be so cruel, how could her own tongue have turned her dreams into a nightmare she could see no way out off.

That word, it was a word she had used since she was eleven, a word she had shouted, sometimes yelled, some times said in tenderness, sometimes she had said it in fear, sometimes whispered, but saying it tonight had been a simple stupid mistake. A mistake that had devastated him, and she knew it was the word that had just demolished her world. It was a word she said so often it just slipped off her tongue without thought.

Her breaking heart showed her memories of how they had kissed so passionately her knees had become weak, pictures of their slow and oh so passionate journey to her bedroom, pictures of him gently laying her on the bed, filling her entire being with a longing for him, and then the pictures of him bending to remove his shoes, socks, then his jeans.

She remembered thinking of the silencing and locking charms and then the words she had spoken, just the one left her lips, but it was too late when she stopped herself, he had heard. She had just wanted to tell him to come to bed but she had said that word, the word that was now the worst word in any language.

Suddenly she knew what she had to do, she did not care now if she made him feel foolish, she did not care if he or she got embarrassed, and she wanted him so much, loved him so fiercely she could not, would not let him go.

Harry sat watching the lights twinkling in the warm night air away in the distance, distance that made them twinkle, or maybe it was the tears that made them twinkle. 'Why did she have to call me Ron?' he thought.

A slight pop and a rustling behind him made him turn around. Hermione sat next to him wrapped only in her bed sheet.

"I knew I'd find you here, I want to finish saying what I started to say, I knew as soon as the word left my lips that you had got the wrong idea," she said quietly

"How can-," he began but she put her finger on his lips to stop him saying what she knew was on his mind.

"It seems a little odd to say it out here in the park, but never the less you need to here me finish," she looked him in the eye, willing him to remain quiet.

"So as I was about to say, Ron might come looking for you, so will you cast a silencing and locking charm," she smiled a little "it does sound rather odd out here in the open. I'm going home now, I'll be there when you have thought it over," she said rising and then vanishing with a pop.

Hermione sat on the edge of her bed; tears once more ran down her face and she hoped and prayed it had worked because she had never lied to Harry before, but she had not saved herself for him all these years to lose him now. Not because of one stupid word.


	3. Chapter 3 Surprise Proposal

Disclaimer……….. All characters are the copyright of JK Rowling

Surprise Proposal

It hadn't been too bad as far as first dates go. She thought as they walked back toward her parents home '_that was definitely a stupid thought'_ she told her self _'I've only ever been on one date before, and that was with Viktor to the ball, so what can I compare it with'_. By the time she had finished her musings on the evening spent with Ron, she was standing at the front door of the house, she fumbled a little as she reached into her purse for the key.

She turned to say goodnight to find him only inches away, they had put off this date for months while they helped Harry, and now it looked like he was finally going to kiss her, she leant toward him a little as he took her in his arms, and his lips were on hers. Her arms reached to go around his neck but never finished their short journey, and she felt, nothing, no tingling, nothing for him at all, no it was worse than nothing she did not like it at all. It wasn't right in fact it felt so wrong. She was not enjoying one second of it; strange thoughts flitted through her mind. She pulled away as quickly as she could, stepping back out of his arms.

"I'm sorry Ron, but this won't work," she told him as she pushed him away and put her key in the door.

"Did I do something wrong, did I rush you?" he asked as she stepped yet further from him.

"No Ron, I'm sorry but it just won't work, I don't want you that way, I know that now," she answered, knowing she was hurting him but needing to make it clear.

"So I don't suppose there will be a second date then?" Ron asked disappointed.

"No, no second date, but we're still friends yeah?" she did not want to lose his friendship; and she wondered why she had ever thought she would like him as anything more.

The door was open now so she stepped into the hall, "Well goodnight Ron," she said in a business like manner.

She could see Ron cringe as she said it, she saw the finality of the words dawn on him, she was not going to be his girlfriend after all, his hopes were dashed.

"Maybe you waited to long," she told him as she lifted her hand to the open door "night."

Ron turned and walked away slowly, his shoulders drooping slightly, but she could not find any remorse for her words, she just did not like what had happened when he had kissed her. The moment his lips had touched her, she had felt she was betraying Harry, she had no idea why, she needed to work it out, why she felt that way, she had never thought of Harry that way, well only in one or two dreams. She and Ron had been almost a couple for months; everyone expected them to become a couple. Confused she closed the door and turned toward the living room.

"Would you like a cup of tea," Harry asked from the kitchen doorway surprising her.

"Harry, what are you…?" she stammered

"Your mum let me wait for you," was all the answer he gave.

Leaning up from the door jamb he went back into the kitchen, Hermione removed her coat and hung it up before she followed him. She had quite a few questions for Harry blooming Potter, what did he think he was doing? Why was he here?

"You know now," Harry said, as he placed two cups of tea on the table, pulling out a chair he sat down making himself at home.

"Harry I…" Harry cut her off.

"I had to let you find out for your self, or you would have wondered for the rest of your life, and that just wouldn't do, having my wife thinking about what might have been with my best friend," He said, sounding very un Harry like and very confident.

Hermione spluttered, unable to say anything coherent, Harry's words were echoing around in her head making her even more confused.

"I'm in love with you, you know that Hermione. Me, Harry James Potter I'm head over heels in love."

Hermione gaped at him as though he were totally insane. "You, you, me," she stammered.

"You know what's even more odd is the fact you are in love with me, it took me quite a while to work it all out, why you were forever looking after me, always touching me in some small way, making me get through school and every thing. Even when we argued you still took care of me," Harry smiled

Hermione was wondering if she had been Confunded or something, she almost collapsed into the chair opposite Harry. Harry smiled at her over his cup as he blew away the steam. Then reaching into his pocket he placed a small box on the table between them. Hermione found she could not take her eyes off the box in blue velvet.

"I'm just off to the toilet; you can let me know if you will marry me when I get back. I won't be long," he said gesturing at the box.

Hermione stared at him as he left the room, then her gaze went back to the small velvet box still sitting in the middle of the table. Her mind was just beginning to process all that Harry had said. Hermione's mother walked into the kitchen and getting two cups she quietly poured tea into them "Well are going to look at it or put the darn thing on," she whispered

Hermione tried to think of what to say "Mum I…" she trailed off.

"Well you love him don't you, you always have and we both know it, now open the box and put the ring on," her mother encouraged as she left the kitchen with the two cups of tea on a tray, "your dad and I will wait in the living room."

Harry stood in the Granger bathroom shaking like a leaf in a storm, he had never been so nervous in his entire life; it had been only half this bad when he had faced Voldemort. _'I can do this'_, It was Mrs Grangers plan and Mr Granger had said it would take a bombshell to make Hermione forget her logic, and act on her emotions, _'I know for sure she never really loved Ron, I doubt she even likes him really'_ he told himself over and over as he washed his hands for the fifth time.

'_If what I just did hasn't gone down like a bombshell, I'll eat Dobby's woolly hats'_ he thought as he finally wiped his hands dry.

Hermione sat at the table running Harry's words through her mind, memories of her feelings when Ron kissed her flooded into her mind, _'I felt like I was betraying Harry' _she remembered thinking, all her logical thought process had ceased, and her emotions were now in full control. '_I do love Harry'_ the thought was like someone had opened the flood gates to all her repressed feelings as they flooded through her mind, and she finally admitted her feelings to herself.

Harry entered the kitchen looking confident; he walked over to the table and took his seat again. The small box was exactly where he had left it, and he felt a knot tighten in his stomach. Hermione was staring at him. Silently she just sat and looked at him '_her Harry'_

Under the table Harry clenched his fists tightly, he needed to stop his hands and knees shaking, having done all he could to suppress the shakes, he reached over and picked up his cup, "More tea?" he asked.

'_Who would have thought it so hard to look confident?'_ he asked himself as he poured more tea, his knees were doing a good impression of being made of jelly, he leant against the counter hoping that it would hold him up, '_collapsing into a gibbering heap at this point won't help'_ he thought as he fought his nerves.

"Harry?" Hermione questioned looking at his back as he did the tea. Almost casually Harry walked back to the table and placed the cups down carefully, then he turned to Hermione and leaning over he kissed her.

Hermione's arms snaked around his neck and she pulled him in closer deepening the kiss, the last thought she had before her mind shut down was '_this is right, this is perfect'._

It was when the need for air reached her brain that she pulled back slightly and broke the kiss, feelings she had never experienced before were racing through her body, her heart was pounding in her chest, she could almost hear the rapid beat as Harry took his arms from around her and without a word he sat back in his chair. Once sitting he let out a long breath "Hermione that was awesome," he gasped.

"My answer is yes Harry," she smiled lifting her left hand and showing him the ring on her finger. "Yes I'll marry you, if you'll have me."

Relief flowed through Harry as he fell forward letting his head hit the table "thank heaven," he said as he turned his head to look at her.

Hermione noticed him begin to shake "Harry you ok?" she asked as she looked at him his head still on the table.

"Merlin Hermione, I was never so nervous in my entire life, I'd sooner face another Voldemort than ever go through that again."

Hermione couldn't help but smile, for the first time since they had first met Harry had managed to hide his nervousness from her, she wasn't sure if she should be mad at him for the shock he gave her, but the feelings from the kiss were still lingering.

Mr and Mrs Granger and Hermione all laughed as Harry told how he had had to squeeze his legs together to stop his knees knocking, "I nearly passed out when I came from the bathroom and the ring box was still where I left it," he announced quietly.

"You never looked nervous, I was actually surprised by how confident you were," Hermione said to him as she told her mother about all the things that had run through her mind while Harry was out of the room.

"Well dear," Hermione's dad said, "We have a wedding to plan. Do you have a date in mind Harry?"

"What ever day Hermione chooses will suit me just fine," he smiled giving Hermione's hand a squeeze


	4. Chapter 4 The Perfect Kiss

Disclaimer all characters, settings, etc, are the copyright of JK Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishing

A/Note just a quick one shot I wrote some weeks back. Hope you enjoy it.

The Perfect Kiss

Hogwarts had reopened after the damage done at the final battle had been repaired. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, have accepted the head mistresses invitation to complete their final year. The day was Saturday, and Hermione, like most seventh years was spending the day in Hogsmeade, her boyfriend Ron had gone back to Hogwarts because they had argued again, now she was sitting on the grass alone in the small memorial park her back up against the great oak that dominated the small pond in front of her, she had her eyes closed as she listened to the birds above her. She noticed the silence that fell on the birds before she heard the two voices she new so well, she thought to stand and show her self when something about their conversation stopped her.

"So you want to tell me about it Harry?" Luna asked

"I died that day you know, that day in the forest, he killed me, Voldemort, I had a choice, I could have gone on, been with my parents, I chose to come back for her, and now I just wish I had stayed dead, I came back to this pain filled life so she could be happy, I thought I could do it, I thought I was strong enough to see her with him, but I can't, every day it gets worse, every day she rips my heart and soul apart, it hurts so much being so deeply in love with her, is it wrong to want to die again, to hate being in love, to want to be free of this love?" Harry said.

Hermione could hear him cry and she felt her heart breaking for him, and she felt jealous that he had turned to Luna for comfort; she hated Ginny for hurting him. She thought again of standing of offering her support but it was too late she had stayed hidden to long.

"She doesn't know Harry, only you and I know, I know she should know, she should have seen it, but I'm glad you ended it with Ginny, it wasn't fair on her you loving some one else. As for dying I think you would still feel the pain, you would still see her in the arms of another," Luna said in her usual straight talking way.

"I think I'm going to leave, go away from it all, maybe live as a Muggle try to forget her, try to forget the nightmare of watching her in his embrace, try to forget the horror of seeing them kiss," Harry said still sobbing a little.

Hermione sat confused, it wasn't Ginny that was hurting him, it wasn't Ginny he was so deeply in love with he wanted to die, who was it, and why did she treat him like that, surely any girl could see if Harry was in love with them, those wonderful green eyes were like windows to his soul, one look into those eyes and any girl would know, who was the fool hurting her best friend so much.

"If you think that's for the best, but what about their wedding, they will expect you to be there," Luna said quieter than before.

"I couldn't take that, anyway they will quickly forget about me, they will get on with their lives, make lots of babies, and become a huge family." Harry said the sound of despair in his voice.

Hermione sat sobbing silently as her best friend poured his heart out to Luna.

"If you want babies Harry, if you want a wife and a family, I can do that for you, I don't love you, I don't think I ever will, you see we have both lost the one we love, so if you want some one to share your bed, some one to keep you warm on long winter nights, some one to be faithful then I am willing to do that for you," Luna said seriously.

"You are one of my dearest friends, and a wonderful person Luna, I hope you know that, I'm sorry though I cant except your offer," Harry said as he held Luna in a firm hug.

Hermione smiled through her tears, Luna was indeed a wonderful person, she may have some strange ideas about magical animals but she was wise beyond her years, and she was willing to give her all for a friend.

"Well I'll leave the offer open Harry," Luna said as Harry still held her.

"No I have to get away from her, away from the pain, away from the heart ache, it hurts to much to stay in the world of magic, I don't belong in this world without her, I have to get away where I cant see her smile, or hear her laugh, where I cant see the beauty of her, where I cant see the body I long to hold, or the lips I long to kiss, the smile of the girl who has been my only reason for living these last seven years, I thought I had a chance but I was wrong. I'll pack my things tonight and leave in the morning," he said the words full of sorrow.

"Where will you go, what will you do?" Luna asked quietly so Hermione had to strain to hear.

"South I think, I don't really know, all I know is I just have to get away," again his voice was filled with sorrow.

"Remember me Harry, may be we will meet again some day." Luna said.

"Can I give you a kiss?" he asked quietly.

Harry did just that, he kissed Luna, not in a passionate way, but in a way that said thank you and good bye to the world he was leaving.

"Bye Luna, it was nice having you as a friend," Harry said as he walked away.

Hermione let a sob escape her as she wept for her heart broken friend, it was a sob that Luna heard, and she walked around the tree, looked at Hermione and frowned.

"Why is Harry leaving who hurt him so much?" Hermione asked as Luna stared down at her.

"Hermione dear, you simply have to be one of the most stupid heartless girls I ever had the misfortune to meet," Luna said as she turned to walk away.

"Luna, you can't insult me like that then just walk away," Hermione said stopping Luna with her voice.

Luna turned and for the very first time Hermione saw anger in Luna's usually dreamy eyes.

"Well if you are not stupid then you must simply be evil," Luna spat out.

"Luna what the heck are you talking about?" Hermione almost screamed.

"You led him on then you shattered his heart, that's what I'm talking about," Luna said in an icy voice.

"Luna I don't know what you are going on about," Hermione said taken back by Luna's tone.

"Harry you bloody moron, Harry," Luna shouted finally loosing her temper.

"I know what you did in that tent," Luna continued.

"I, we did nothing in the tent, nothing," Hermione protested.

Luna suddenly spoke in a really low voice "Oh so you did not protect Harry from Ron with a shield, you did not choose Harry when Ron told you to choose, you did not walk with your arms around the boy, or walk holding his hand where ever you went, you did not do the things people do when they are in love, you did not build up his hopes that his love for you was not wasted, the love he has shown you for the last six bloody years," Luna hissed.

"Harry doesn't love me, he can't, he never said," Hermione whispered.

"So tell me stupid, was it Harry or Ron wanted to come back into the castle looking for you when there was a Troll loose.  
Who was it spent night after night in the hospital wing when you were petrified?  
Who was it that cried for you when you were hurt at the ministry and sat holding your hand till you woke then stayed with you while you recovered? Who was it that treated you well?  
Who was it always said you were brilliant?  
Who was it never shouted at you, never treated you as though you were crazy?  
Who was it that never called you mental, tell me was it Harry showing his love for you, or was it Ron showing how jealous he was because you were better than him at every thing.  
Come on miss bloody know nothing at all, who showed you how much they love you, was it thick stupid Ron to dense to do his lessons, always arguing with you, always shouting at you, calling you mental, or was it that gentle boy Harry whose heart you shattered?" Luna spat at the ground in front of Hermione "You make me sick."

The next morning as Harry and Ron said their goodbyes in the entrance hall, they were joined by Hermione, her packed trunk floating along behind her.

Ron watched open mouthed as she stood waiting.

"Hermione what are you doing?" Ron asked looking puzzled.

"I'm leaving with Harry," she answered calmly.

"You can't leave, you're my girl friend," Ron said rather stupidly.

"When it comes to a choice between being with you or Harry, just like I did before, I will always choose Harry, I promised him I would stay with him to the bitter end," she answered still calm.

Harry watched with his eyes wide, a smile creeping across his face.

"But you, I, we, you." Ron spluttered.

"So Harry where are we going?" she asked as she levitated her trunk through the main door.

"Just like before I have no idea," Harry said joining her as she walked down the steps.

"Bye Ron," she called back over her shoulder.

"I think we should go to my home first to see my parents," she said as they reached the main gate of Hogwarts school.

"It's as good a place as any I recon," Harry said a huge grin on his face.

"Yes well I think they should meet the man I will be spending my life with," Hermione smiled "don't you?"

Harry slipped his arm around her waist "I do," he said.

"Oh and Harry, I'm sorry for hurting you," Hermione said as she leant her head against his shoulder, "and just one more thing, I love you."

Harry stopped walking and pulled Hermione to him, then with his hands slipping around her waist he bent forward and kissed her with all the love and longing that had filled him for so long.

Hermione's arms were wrapped around his neck as he kissed her, her legs trembled and her body shook as she kissed him back pushing herself into him, if Harry had not been holding her around the waist she would have fallen as her knees gave way beneath her, her entire body was on fire, she had been kissed by Ron but those kisses made her feel nothing, nothing to what she was now feeling as Harry stirred sensations in her body she had only ever read about until this the perfect kiss.


	5. Chapter 5 The pain of his leaving

Disclaimer all characters, settings, etc, are the copyright of JK Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishing

The pain of his leaving

Hermione Jane Granger stood in the street out side the Leaky Cauldron, tears streamed down her unusually pale cheeks, she had been on her way to meet her new fiancé Ron Weasley, but now she no longer wanted to see Ron, instead she wanted to crumple up and cry until she faded away.

She had been engaged just two and a half days, but it was only yesterday afternoon when together they had told Harry Potter, their best friend about it, instead of congratulating them as she had expected he had just walked out on them slamming the door of the Burrow kitchen shut as he left the house and vanished with just a slight pop sound with out saying a single word to anyone.

Now she stood feeling that her entire world had just fallen apart, her hands and legs were shaking and a huge knot was twisting in her chest as she was rereading the letter Hedwig's temporary replacement owl had just delivered to her right there in the street. She was having so many regrets, she had hurt the one person she truly loved, and she had hurt him enough to make him write her a very stiff and almost formal letter, a letter that had with its formality as much as its contents broken her heart.

'_Dear Miss Granger,_

_I must admit that the shock and pain I felt yesterday when you told me you were going to become yet another friend who deserts me, had to be amongst the most painful things I have had to endure in my short life. _

_I should have known that things would never work out right for me, nothing ever does. What you have done to me makes me wonder if all that I suffered at the hands of Voldemort was as bad as the pain you have caused by breaking my heart. Anyway enjoy your life with Mr Weasley; I have added you to the list of former friends whom I no longer wish to associate with, the list includes Mr R B Weasley, Miss G M Weasley, all the other Weasleys and your self. _

_Mr R.B. Weasley, because the two occasions in my life when I needed the support of my best friend the most, he has turned on me and then walked out on the friendship we had. You may well remember the fourth year at school when he turned his back on me during the triwizard tournament, then he did it again during our collection of those evil items that we had to destroy, I will feel no sorrow when he eventually walks out on you. _

_Miss G. M. Weasley is on the list because she just wanted to be seen as the girlfriend of 'The famous Harry Potter, the boy who lived' and not the girlfriend of me, just Harry Potter._

_And your self for the reason mentioned above. I admit I thought when you chose to remain with me, and not leave with him during those long hard days under canvas, that choice added to the amount of times that you held my hand, or placed your arm around me, or held me in those tight hugs during those weeks alone, that we might have a future together, I had thought when you kissed him that it was just caused by the fear and excitement of the occasion, it would seem I was once again completely wrong. It would seem that I am destined to remain unloved while I am 'The Harry Potter'._

_I wish to let you know that I will never forget, that one night just a few short weeks ago under the stars you said you would love me forever. My declaration of love for you remains true, and will remain that way for all time. Your forever was a short forever. I should inform you that I do not intend to accept any invite to any celebration that you may send, nor will I reply to any letters, in fact after today no owl you might deem to send will be able to find me. Because I intend to leave for foreign shores on the early tide, I doubt I will ever return to this land that holds such bad and pain filled memories. So for the help you gave to me through the years and for the friendship we once had I thank you, I now wish you a final good bye._

_Sincerely_

_H.J. Potter. _

_Order of Merlin First Class._

Hermione had known since she was fourteen years old that she was in love with Harry, she had also known that she would love him for the rest of her life no matter what might happen to them as they grew up.

Now she stood wishing that she had had the courage to fight for his heart as she had fought for his life, instead she had simply stepped aside to let Ginny Weasley take him from her, she had not even had the courage to wait until after the final battle was over before she had given up on her dreams and made the decision to let him go and to accept second best, she had done just as he had said, she had deserted him when he needed her. Because of her he had rejected Ginny and with the rejection of Ginny he had alienated the Weasley family, the only real family he had ever known.

Through blurry tear filled eyes she checked her watch, it was eleven thirty, Ron was expecting her for lunch at midday but she still had quite a few hours before the day ended, she should still have time to find him, time to make things right, but where to start? that was the question, where should she start?

The answer came to her with out having to think about it, she knew Harry almost as well as he knew him self, she just needed to think as he did, she had done it so many times in the past it should be just as easy to do it now, but it wasn't easy, how was she to think like a man who's heart she had broken, but still she had to find him, she needed to find him.

Grimmauld Place was where she began her search, but it was obvious from the destruction and dust that no one had been into the house since the war ended. She tried the Leaky Cauldron, Weasley's shop, and even Gringotts bank no one had seen him, her search was all to no avail. The next place she tried was out of desperation, but again he was not at Hogwarts, nor was he with Hagrid. He was not in any of the pubs in Hogsmeade, by late evening her heart was shattered and she could take no more disappointments, with tears running freely down her face she entered her flat and collapsed defeated on to her beaten old couch the parchment from Harry clutched tightly in her hand.

"So Dudley, I'll drop you a line some time," Harry said as he left the Dursley house for the very last time "Oh and thanks for letting me stay for the past couple of days."

"After what we did to you Harry it was the least we could do," Dudley Dursley said to his only cousin.

"Well I best go, train leaves for the coast at ten, say goodbye to your mother for me." Harry turned and walked from the house he hated and walked down the uniform street that he hated, and that led him to another street that was a carbon copy of Privet Drive. Harry arrived at Dover station and having collected his small amount of luggage and had his ticket checked, he made his way to the exit, his next stop the docks, then Europe and then on to New Zealand.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks as he walked toward the exit door of Dover station, sitting outside the door on top of a battered old trunk sat someone he had thought he would never see again, she looked so sad and forlorn as she sat there watching everyone that walked through the door.

"So Miss Granger it seems you found me," he said as he walked slowly toward her "How?"

"Your letter said early tide," Hermione said nervously as she stood up, watching him for some sign of forgiveness, some small glimmer of hope.

"So Spain first I think Miss Granger, don't you?" Harry said with the smallest of smiles as he caught hold of her trunk handle and heaved it on to his shoulder.

"Any where you say Mr Potter," she answered quietly as she followed him toward the dock.

At four thirty two that morning they stood by the ships rail with their arms around each other, watching as the ship got under way and they waved good bye to the land they had grown up in.


	6. Chapter 6 The Wedding is due to start

Disclaimer they all belong to J.K.Rowling

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The Wedding is due to start

--

Four hours before the wedding is due to start.

"Hermione."

"Yes dad, what is it?"

"In private."

"Ok just give me a second."

"Hermione, it's important."

"Oh dad, so is getting ready."

Out side the house away from prying eyes and large ears Mr Granger looked very worried.

"Hermione you do realise you will be killing him if you say those words."

"Dad I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Your mother thinks he will die on the inside if you say I do to the Weasle, and she means literally, you should know by now he can't live without you, he loves you and you just don't see it."

"Dad what on earth are you trying to say?"

"I just want to know why my little girl is giving up her real love to marry the wrong man."

"Dad I'm marrying Ron, you know, the guy I love, I just don't understand what you're saying."

"He's dying bit by bit even now, your mum recons he'll be dead inside by this time next week, but if you want to kill what's left of him and leave only the 'boy who lived', its your choice."

Mr Granger walked away his shoulders had a slump to them; he knew his daughter was marrying the wrong man for all the wrong reasons, but he did not know what else to say.

Three hours before the wedding is due to start.

"Hermione dear can I come in?"

"Yes mum, I'm just trying to do my hair."

"You look nice dear."

"Mum nice, what ever is wrong with you and dad?"

"Hermione come here, look out of the window, see him at the bottom of the garden, he's been down there breaking his heart since four this morning, you're killing him sure as if you stuck a knife in him."

"But mum I love Ron, surely you can see that."

"Hermione you are lying both to me and to your self, who did you choose when you were in hiding, did you choose to go with Ron, or did you choose to stay with the man you are really in love with."

"Mum he has Ginny."

"He was only with her because the one girl he loves never once showed him any love in return. Anyway I came to tell you, your dad and I are leaving shortly, neither of us can watch you make the biggest mistake of your entire life. We don't want any part of this wedding, and if that young man down there does something stupid, well I would not want the guilt you are going to feel and have to carry for the rest of your life."

"Bye Harry," the whisper was barely audible.

Two hours before the wedding is due to start.

"Hermione love, have you seen Harry, nobody seems to know where he is?"

"Have you looked in the garden Mrs Weasley, he was down by that bush over… oh he's gone."

"I've had everyone out looking for him dear, you would think as best man he would be around here somewhere, today of all days he goes missing."

Down in the garden where he had been sitting she found the letter, it was addressed to her.

_Hermione_

_Sorry I could not stay; I never really accepted that all this would really happen until this morning. I am not strong enough to be there, and to watch as you shred the last pieces of my heart. You have hurt me so much as it is; it has been torture for me to watch you with him. Every kiss a knife in my heart, every embrace a stab at my soul, I never thought you would let me down and desert me, and now that's what it feels like. I knew Ron was capable of doing it, he has done it before, but since the day we fought that troll you have always been there for me, always stuck by me, when you chose to stay with me in that tent rather than leave and go with Ron, my heart sang, I thought there might be a chance for us to be together, well all that is gone now. Today is the day you choose him and not me, don't bother trying to find me, by the time you read this I will be far away, I have decided that today I should talk with my mum and dad again. I hope your wedding to him went well for you, be happy even though from this day forward I never can be, not with out you by my side._

_Goodbye my love, my everything._

_I will love you for all time._

_Harry._

Thirty minutes before the wedding is due to start.

The churchyard Godrics Hollow.

"Hi Harry, I thought I might find you here."

"Hermione don't you have something you should be doing?"

"Not if you aren't there Harry."

"Don't be so bloody stupid Hermione, you think I'm going to go back with you so I can watch the woman I love marry someone else, you should go see a shrink, as the Muggle's say."

"Harry, I love him."

"Well why don't you just sod off back to your mobile food disposal unit, and leave me to talk with my mum and dad."

"Harry I love Ron, but I'm not in love with him."

"Whats that crap supposed to mean, just leave me alone. Huh, Alone for the first time since that day, now I have nobody, so just sod off and leave me be."

"Harry I'm in love with someone else, not Ron. It's not Ron's children I want to be the mother of, it's not Ron I want beside me at night, and it's not Ron I want to spend my life with."

"Well why the heck are you going to marry him?"

"I'm not, not if you'll forgive me, not if you will have me."

"Eh?"

"I'm trying to tell you I'm sorry, I'm sorry I never saw how much you cared, I never saw just how much you mean to me or exactly how much I love you till today."

"Hermione I love you so much it hurts so why don't you stop before you say anything else you shouldn't."

"Harry I've spent the last few years not saying what I should have said, I should have said that day when Ron left us in that tent, I knew then I loved you, I knew in Godric's Hollow when I nearly lost you, I was just to scared to admit it to myself. Well now I'm not scared anymore, I'm in love with you Harry, I always have been, I always will be."

Fifteen minutes after the wedding was due to start

"Harry?"

"Harry, say something."

"I love you Hermione."

"Harry."

"Hermione."

"Harry, will you for gods sake kiss me."

"That Hermione would give me great pleasure."

"Mmmm, Harry,"

"Mmmm, Hermione."

"Did I tell you I love you Harry?"

"I think you may have said something like that yes."

"Hermione."

"Mmmm."

"I love you."

"Harry."

"Mmmm."

"I think I may have missed my wedding."

"Never mind love, I'll see if we can't arrange another one."

"Harry, I was hoping you would say something like that."


	7. Chapter 7 Happy now

Disclaimer they all belong to J.K. Rowling

Happy now.

I woke up from my latest nightmare covered in sweat; it was so bad I could feel a small trickle of liquid as it rolled down my chest, checking my watch I found I had only been asleep for four hours. As I rolled off the bed still fully dressed I wondered if they had moved his body yet, it had been just six hours before that Voldemort had finally died, his death had brought about the end of the battle of Hogwarts and his death eaters, the end of the war.

I rummaged through my backpack for the cleanest clothes I had left; I needed a shower before I left. Unable to get any hot water, I turned on the cold tap and I stood under that cold shower washing myself for as long as I could, I made my mind up by the time I was dressed, I would thank Hermione for all the help she had given to me, tell her how I felt about her and then hopefully we would leave this world together and move on with our lives, and one thing I was very sure about I would never return to this world where so much segregation and hatred is a part of daily life. As I walked down to the common room I could see both Hermione and Ron sitting on the couch their backs facing me, I called over from the bottom stair

"Hermione could I have a word in private when you have time,"

It was when she turned and faced me and I saw she was holding his hand, I was suddenly reminded what my latest nightmare had been about, the awful dream that had woken me wasn't about Voldemort or the actual fight, it had nothing to do with all the deaths I had seen, it was all about a single minute, one short minute during the battle when my entire hoped for future was destroyed, the future I had finally begun to pray for during the past few months was suddenly and permanently destroyed in that one lousy minute. I turned and rushed back up to the dorm room, I grabbed my few things and shoved them unceremoniously into my back pack, I was just slinging it over my shoulder when she entered the room.

"Harry…" she began before she noticed I was ready to leave "where are you going?" she asked quietly almost as though she did not want to believe I was leaving.

I thought of ignoring her and just leaving without a word, but then I thought about all she had done for me in the past, she at least deserved an answer; she had earned that much from me. "I'm done with the world of magic, I'm going back to the muggle world," was all I told her.

"That's it, you're just going to up and leave us all?" she asked "what about Ginny? What about me?"

I was really hurting inside and in some way I thought she had betrayed me, the innocence in her voice angered me and I felt my temper rising, there was nothing I could do to stop myself when I turned it all on her "Stuff Ginny, stuff Ron, stuff all the bloody lot of you, I hate you all, you bloody bunch of hypocrites, now why don't you just piss off back down to that bastard deserter down stairs."

Hermione stared at me and I could see the total disbelief in her face, she did not need to say a word I could see the tears forming in her eyes, all she managed to say was my name, "H-Harry what?."

I looked into her tear filled eyes and all I felt was betrayal, so I yelled at her, "I was so in love with you, I came down there to ask you to leave with me, then seeing you holding his hand reminded me of that bloody treacherous kiss, you have no idea how much that hurt, I blocked that kiss out of my mind after I let Voldemort kill me. I fell head over heels in love with you on that search, you had chosen me in the tent, you kept holding my hand, put your arms around me where ever we went, you comforted me at Godrics Hollow, held me close at the grave side, when we did that married couple act you seemed so happy, it was as though we were really married. You made me fall in love with you, and then you deserted me for that coward, that deserter that ran home to his mum, well I hope you are happy with him, just remember the guy who always took care of you right from the day we beat that Troll left here with a broken heart."

As I turned for the door I remembered that all the shields around Hogwarts were down so I simply disapparated and left her there with my yelling still ringing in her ear. I had no idea what she thought or how she reacted to what I said, I was to busy feeling sorry for myself to care, I kept seeing that bloody kiss and it was driving me crazy. I arrived on the Dursleys front doorstep and after they reluctantly allowed me in to collect finall few things from the room they gave me, I told them the war was all over, they were safe now, after packing and collecting my things that I had left hidden there just over a year ago I found myself once again on their door step and wondered where I could go from there. I shrank my trunk and forced it into my backpack, then as I walked down the drive to the road I saw Mrs Figg, she was at my side before I could summon the knight bus.

"So Harry, congratulations," she said as she shook my hand.

"Er thanks," I replied wondering how she knew so fast but then I realised that by now the whole wizarding world must know.

"So have you decided where you and the little Lupin boy will live?" she asked smiling.

I had completely forgotten about little Teddy, I was his godfather and it was now my duty to look after him, how the heck does an eighteen year old boy who knows absolutely nothing about children look after a baby I wondered, then I thought that I must be cursed I could not leave the wizarding world just yet, I would have to go and see if Andromeda Tonks was going to look after him or did she want me to have him and to raise him. After saying goodbye to Mrs Figg I caught the knight bus and I asked the driver Ernie if he could drop me off right out side Andromeda Tonks house, it was just twenty minutes later when I knocked at the door to the Tonks residence. I was welcomed by Andromeda who almost instantly insisted I call her Andie now that I was the nearest thing to family she had left apart from little Teddy.

She noticed the tear streaks down my face, tears I hadn't even realised I had shed, when she asked about them I found myself telling her all about Hermione's treachery with my former friend. I told her how he had broken our friendship the night he had deserted us, I told her how and why during our time alone together in the tent I had fallen in love with Hermione. Somehow telling Andie had eased the hurt a little, I don't know if it was what she said when she told me that people can't make someone fall in love with them, the love must have been there before, but neither can you chose who you fall in love with. If Hermione was in love with Ron then there was nothing Hermione or I could do about it.

Andie offered me a room if I wanted some where to stay, I could be with Teddy and she could teach me all I needed to know about looking after him, I accepted the offer, it would be the perfect place to live, no body would find me here, I mean who was going to look for the famous boy who lived in a Muggle house owned by an old witch.

Those first few days learning how and when to change little Teddy when it was needed, how to hold him and feed him, began to take my mind off my broken heart, I had a baby that needed me, and he needed all the love I could give him, I swore he was not going to grow up unloved, unwanted like I had done, I think that's why Remus and Tonks had chosen me to be godfather, they knew me so well. As the weeks passed and we shared the job of looking after Teddy, Andie seemed to somehow look younger. It was just over a month after I had moved in that I remarked on how well she looked; she smiled a huge smile at me.

"I still miss my little Dora but having you and Teddy here, well it's like I have the son I always wanted, so now I feel like I have a son and a grandson, it makes me feel a little younger," she said still with that huge smile.

It was the day after that when Andie called me down from Teddy's room, I had just put him to bed and was still singing softly to him, watching as his eyes closed and he began to breathe steadily and rhythmically. Down stairs Andie told me I had a visitor in the living room, she said it was someone she thought I should see and talk too, I got the impression it was almost an order. Walking into the living room I couldn't miss seeing her, she stood looking nervous right in front of the fireplace her back to the small fire.

"Oh its you," was all I said as I looked at her red rimmed eyes and slightly sagging figure, I thought she had lost some weight but then told myself it was not my worry anymore.

"Hello Harry," Hermione said twisting her hands together and shuffling her feet.

I sat down on the couch and just looked down at the floor, I did not want to see her or talk to her, I had only stayed in the room because I knew Andie would be waiting out in the hall, making sure I did as she suggested. Hermione fidgeted obviously waiting for me to say something, but I had nothing to say, I mean what can you say to some one who betrayed you and broke your heart? So I just sat and looked at the carpet.

"I came to say I'm sorry," she said sounding nervous.

"Okay, now you said it is that all?" I asked really quietly. I could here her sniffle and I knew she was crying, instead of feeling the way I usually did the few times before when she cried, I felt a little pleased, somehow I had hurt her back a little, I turned and looked at her "Well?"

Hermione looked at me with her tear stained face and those beautiful brown eyes and suddenly I wanted to rush to her and hold her tight, make her pain go away, stop her crying, I tried telling myself I was being stupid, it was time to ask her to leave, instead I patted the cushion next to me and asked her to sit with me.

She walked over and sat slowly, never taking her eyes off me, "So what do you want?" I asked looking deep into those brown pools of sorrow.

"I want you to forgive me," she replied rather quietly.

"Hermione, I could forgive you for almost anything, I love you so much, but you betrayed me, you chose the guy who was forever upsetting you, the one who spent most of the past seven years shouting at you, making you cry and calling you names, the guy I thought might actually hate you because of the way he treated you, I treated you right Hermione, I always respected you, I didn't yell at you or call you names, but you chose him, I don't know if I can ever forgive you for that, you know what he did to our friendship, you knew how he had destroyed it when he deserted us, I thought you had feelings for me, I just don't know," I told her as I held my head in my hands as it tore my heart apart again.

"I had to know if I could love him instead of you, you never showed me any sign you might have feelings for me, so I had to choose someone else, when you told me how you felt and just left me there I knew I couldn't love him, or anyone else because I love you Harry, I have for years, you just never seemed to love me back." She said in a whisper.

I stared at her as my mind spun and a million thoughts all fought for a place and to be heard, "You love me, as in, IN love?"

"Yes Harry, I just hoped you could forgive me, maybe give me another chance, I made a big mistake with Ron, I missed you so much and it hurt so much to think I broke your heart it took me ages to pull myself together long enough to work out where you might be," Hermione said as she placed a hand gently on my cheek.

Although I had still felt betrayed now that I knew why she had done it, I just couldn't help myself, I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her tenderly, I think the kiss was all she needed to know just how I felt about her, she knew that no matter what I said with words, the kiss and all the love behind it said that I had forgiven her, the kiss was interrupted before it became passionate by a cough from the door way.

Andie stood there all smiles "I have made up some supper, it's in the kitchen."

Hand in hand I led Hermione into the kitchen; there were three plates of food and three glasses of brandy laid out on the table, taking our seats Andie kept grinning at us like a manic teenager.

"I always knew you two were meant to be together," she said as she raised her glass, "to my family," she said before we all drank the toast.

Andie talked Hermione into moving in with us, and just a month after she moved into the house Hermione moved out of her room and into my room with me, she has become like a mother to Teddy, mind you it doesn't take long to fall in love with the little tyke, he's just started to crawl now, gets into all sorts of things.

We live happily as a family, Hermione's parents who the Australian ministry found and had brought back from Australia, visit us often and Helen, Hermione's mum asked when the big day is going to be, I really looked forward to the Saturday after Hermione said she would marry me, because when Helen visited and asked I could tell her that Hermione said yes when I proposed and we are getting married in a Muggle church with no witches or wizards invited, on the fourteenth of August.

August the fourteenth was a beautiful sunny day; due to Hermione insisting I should have some family there, even if it was the worst family on the planet, I had even invited my Aunt, who actually turned up, I refused to accept the small gift she had brought.

Hermione looked absolutely stunning in her Muggle wedding dress, it was a beautiful white with an intricately embroidered rose pattern all over it, she wore a matching pair of shoes and gloves, and her hair was done in ringlets, to me she looked like the most wonderfully beautiful bride that had ever graced a wedding ceremony, I was so proud when her dad Richard placed her hand in mine, I was even more proud when I heard her say those two special words 'I do'.

For a wedding present I bought us a small Muggle book shop, we both work there together, but we always make sure we are finished by four P.M so that we can be home in time to have tea with Andie and Teddy, Oh yes I should mention that Teddy has shown no sign of having his fathers little hairy problem. Our honeymoon was a long weekend at the inn in Godrics Hollow, we visited my parent's grave again and once again Hermione held me close and comforted me.

There will be a small addition to the family in a few months time, the woman I fell in love with who has become a mother to my godson, is soon to be the mother of our first child, she says she wants to have the baby at home, but I don't know about that yet, I mean, I'm bloody scared about it all as it is. Still I have the woman I love as my wife and I already know she will be a wonderful mum, yes I think after all we have been through I am truly happy now.

oOoOoOoOo

I saw the look in Harry's eye as I turned to answer him, he had just come down the stairs and said he wanted a word with me in private, the instant I saw those wonderful green eyes and the look of deep hurt in them I knew I had made the biggest mistake of my life, I let go of Ron's hand like it had burnt me and told him it would never work between us, he must still be wondering what happened.

By the time I reached the seventh year dorm Harry had finished packing, I was just going to tell him I had ended things with Ron, that I had made a mistake, when I noticed he was about to leave, I never finished what I was going to say, I was distracted by the thought I might be to late. I asked where he was going, and then I asked him about Ginny, that's when he started yelling, all I could remember was he had said he had fallen in love with me but I had broken his heart, and then he was gone. I fell to my knees crying, the man I had loved for so very long had said the very words I had waited to hear, I just hadn't waited quite long enough before I kissed the wrong man.

I had made my mind up just two weeks before, that as Harry wasn't interested in me I was going to give Ron a chance, I knew he fancied me after all that happened the year before, and I knew he would ask me to be his girlfriend, I had kissed Ron just before Harry left the castle to face Voldemort. I shuddered to think he went out and died because I wanted to know if I could fall in love with Ron. I thank all the Gods there are that Harry was returned to us, I could never have lived with the guilt. It was a stupid time to be worried about falling in love and being loved in return; I think I was afraid I might not make it. I should have known Harry would never declare his love for anyone while Voldemort was alive, it was the reason he had ended things with Ginny, he didn't want her to be a target used to get to him. Somehow I let myself forget that noble streak in him.

I don't know how long I lay on the dormitory floor crying, Neville found me and picked me up placing me on Harry's bed, I cried myself to sleep that night and for several nights after, I don't remember much about it all, I just felt like I had done one of the worst things it was possible for me to do, and I just couldn't pull myself together, in hurting Harry I had hurt myself more than I thought was possible. It was Luna who helped me out of it, she convinced me I should find Harry, try and put things right, but where do you search for a wizard who left the magical world behind and went back to being a Muggle, I had no idea where to look, then we had the memorial service for Remus and Tonks Lupin and I suddenly knew where I might find him.

Andie told me he might not see me when I arrived at her house, I begged her to at least give me a chance to talk to him. She told me just how much I had hurt him, and she said that even if he talked to me he might never be able to forgive me, she knew for sure he would never be able to forget, still I pleaded for just a few minutes, I promised to leave if he refused to see me.

When he walked into that room I was scared to death, my knees were shaking and I had a really hard time speaking, I managed to say hello before my throat closed up on me. I couldn't hold back the tears as I watched him sitting on the couch, he wouldn't even look at me, I tried to apologise for what I had done, and then he looked at me, I could see so much hurt in his eyes I just cried more, then he was patting the seat next to him and for a fleeting moment the sadness in my heart lifted a little, I walked over and sat down where he had indicated, I felt so nervous I was desperate to use the bathroom, but I didn't dare ask, I couldn't afford to leave things as they were.

I asked him if he would forgive me and then I told him how I felt about him, how I had loved him for so long, then suddenly he was kissing me and my heart was floating, my head swimming in happiness, it was a gentle kiss one that was full of love and forgiveness, it wasn't my first kiss but it was definitely my first real loving kiss. Funny thing when Andie invited us into the kitchen for supper I had completely lost the desire to go to the bathroom, when Andie decided to ask me to move in with them I was ecstatic, I couldn't get away quick enough, I wanted to go fetch my things and move in right there and then.

I had fallen in love with little Teddy, and I really enjoyed looking after him, I was proud of how well Harry looked after him, he never refused to change Teddy no matter how bad he smelt or how much mess he was in, I could see a wonderful loving father for my own children in the wonderful man that was my boyfriend at last.

I had never made love to a man before, and when Harry asked me to move into his room I was a little scared, but my love for him soon overcame that fear. Harry did not try to talk me into moving in with him, he just mentioned it one night in one of our conversations, when I did move into his room he was patient with me and waited until I was ready, we had plenty of laughs that first time, we neither of us really knew what we were doing, all we had to go on was what we had read about it or what others had told us, still he was gentle with me and our love making was something beautiful.

I think I must have been the happiest bride that ever got married, after loving Harry for eight years, then nearly losing him forever we were really getting married, my heart was nearly bursting with happiness when we said our vows, Harry looked so handsome dressed in his grey morning suit, Harry's best man was one of our neighbours who helped Harry to keep Andie's rather large garden under control, he too was dressed in a grey morning suit, as was my dad, dad looked so proud as he placed my hand into Harry's and whispered "I knew years ago this day would come."

I stopped taking the contraception potion the week after we got married, and now I have a wonderful bulge in my stomach where the first new Potter is growing, I felt movement last night for the first time, I was so happy I had Harry hold his hand on the spot for ages until he felt it too. we don't know if it is a boy or a girl, we'll find that out when he or she enters into our world, when the doctor asked us if we wanted to know we both answered no.

Harry bought us a little book shop down on the high street, the business is fairly good, we even have some regular customers, though Harry does occasionally moan at me for reading instead of working I am really truly happy now.


	8. Chapter 8 Giving up Love

Disclaimer, so I don't own em, I just borrowed em.

Giving up love is not an option

Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the slayer of dark wizards, saviour of the wizarding world, the boy who conquered. These were some of the names given to Harry now by the people of his world, yet all he wanted was to be Harry Potter, simply Harry James Potter. He was even beginning to think his girlfriend thought of him in the same way. It had taken him a whole year from the beginning of his task of hunting for hidden Horcrux's up to the day of the Hogwarts battle and the end of the evil that was Voldemort, a whole year of killing the evil wizard Voldemort piece by piece before he could go back to her, now it seemed to have been a huge mistake.

Soon after the initial euphoria that had filled him, the great sense of freedom he felt when his task was complete had died, to be slowly replaced with the mundane task of day to day living, he began to wonder why he had placed so much hope in the girl he had only had as a girlfriend for one short month. He wondered if he actually knew her at all, he didn't know her likes or dislikes, he didn't even know what kind of clothes she liked to wear when away from school, did she take milk and sugar in her tea, he hardly knew her as a person other than Ron's sister, she was just a girl he had once dated.

Today his uncertainty had become a certainty, today he had just decided he actually loved another, he loved the girl just a few short feet away from him, the one he waited to see in a wedding dress, a dress she was trying on, a dress she wanted his opinion on. He knew for certain he was in love with his best friend, as he thought about it he realised it wasn't his feelings that had changed, it was his knowledge. He knew now why he could not bear to watch as another man kissed her. He hadn't denied it, it was just his head full of fear and war and fighting had just never seen what his heart had known since the first time he saw her, he now accepted what his heart had told him at the Yule ball.

Hermione stepped from the changing room, the dress she was trying on did not feel right, like all the others she had tried that had not felt right. In fact nothing at all about the wedding felt right, she wasn't even sure why she was getting married. Even her fiancé didn't feel right. She looked into the eyes of her best friend and saw tears being withheld behind the amazing green eyes, she could see pain deep within them, and she suddenly knew why the wedding did not feel right. It could never feel right unless she was marrying the man who was sat looking at her right at that moment.

He stood and approached her, and she knew the reason for his sadness.

"I'm sorry Hermione I can't give you an opinion on a dress you will wear for Ron."

He was walking away from her, and she knew if she let him go she would never see him again. "Harry, don't leave me, I need you, and I love you too." She called after him as he left the shop.

Without a thought about how she looked she rushed after him, flinging the door to the shop open she looked out on the busy street, Harry was just a few yards away, regardless of the consequences she shouted him.

"Harry! I love you too, don't go."

Harry turned unable to believe the words he heard, Hermione flung herself into his arms as he turned to face her, she had tears running down her face, they were tears of happiness.

"I love you," she repeated as his arms enveloped her "I really do love you, I'm in love for real," she whispered in surprise as he leant forward to kiss her.

Neither Harry nor Hermione could quite believe what had happened, their shopping trip to buy a wedding dress had turned into a disaster for their other friend Ron, the one who had asked Hermione to marry him, and for Ginny, Harry's current girl friend.

They sat drinking a butterbeer in the Leaky Cauldron while they discussed what they should do, Harry as always felt guilty, as though falling in love with Hermione had been some great crime, it was while they talked that they discovered that they had both been hiding or ignoring their feelings for a very long time, Hermione had been in love with Harry since the third year at Hogwarts school. Harry had finally totally fallen in love with Hermione in their fourth year around the time of the Yule Ball when he had realised just how beautiful she was. Though he had not realised until sitting in that shop that his feelings for her were what was known as love. Their love though hidden from the rest of the world had grown strong, so strong that Hermione had not been able to leave Harry during the hunt for the Horcrux's when Ron had left.

Hermione's love had been so strong she had been willing to accept second best and marry Ron so that Harry could be happy with Ginny. Harry had tried to sit back as Hermione married Ron, but seeing her in that wedding dress had shown him just what he would be losing, even then he had been willing to force him self to walk away from her, and if his eyes, so well read and understood by Hermione, had not given his feelings away he would have walked out of her life for ever.

Hermione made the suggestion that they go and visit her parents and ask them for their advice, Harry having no one but Hermione to ask for advice on matters of the heart agreed and together they left their butter beer and walked out of the Leaky Cauldron in to Muggle London.

They spent the rest of the day together wandering around London, hand in hand away from the wizarding world they rediscovered the bond that had grown between them as they grew up together, a bond that went beyond normal bonds between ordinary friends, theirs was a bond that had been forged in adversity and strengthened by love, they took an evening stroll through one of the many Muggle parks that were dotted around the huge city, having shared kisses and cuddles all day they could see no way back to where they had been only a few short hours earlier, but neither could see a way forward, their being together would hurt the people they looked on as family.

As the evening rush hour began to ease they found a quiet spot amongst a clump of bushes and Hermione side apparated Harry to the street out side her parent's house. Once the introductions were over Hermione explained their problem to her parents over a cup of tea, Harry sat and listened adding just how much he loved Hermione, and voicing his concerns over the Weasleys.

It was Hermione's father who started to give them their answers, "You two have just spent the worst year of your lives, I can't begin to imagine just how hard it was, but at the end of it you put an end to an evil war, a war that you spent seven years fighting, and why did you fight that war if it wasn't to let people live in peace and freedom, freedom to live their lives and to be happy, but that war is over now, now is the time for you to live in freedom and to be happy, now is not the time to give up that freedom and live how others want you or expect you to live, you love each other then you should be together free to live your lives in happiness."

"But the Weasleys will be so hurt and disappointed, they may never speak to us again, and I'm sure we will lose the friendship of Ron," Hermione said as she voiced both their fears.

"With friends like that who needs enemies, it's an old saying but it is still true, what kind of friends would want you to be unhappy, what kind of friend would ask you to give up your true love in exchange for their friendship?" Mrs Granger voiced as she looked at her daughter "If you love Harry, is he worth giving up for a friendship that could fade away as quickly as it came, just ask yourself that."

"Hermione love it was just a few months ago you told me you would willingly give your life for Harry, why then are you hesitant to give up a friendship for him?" Mr Granger said as he poured another tea "now is the time to give up your old life for the man you love, give up your old life and start a new life with him."

Harry sat nodding his head as the Grangers spoke, there was nothing more important to him than Hermione's happiness, he would have given up everything for her to be happy, and if he had to give up his childhood friend to make her happy he would do so in a heart beat.

He looked at Hermione as she took his hand and gave it a squeeze "I'm not giving up Harry for anything," she said to her father.

"I'll go tell the Weasleys, I want you to wait here," Harry said as he got up to leave "I'll be back for you soon."

Hermione wanted to go with him but Harry insisted it would be easier with Ron if she wasn't there, as for Ginny well he would cross that bridge soon, really soon. Harry arrived at the Burrow and knocked at the back door, he was welcomed by Mrs Weasley with the usual hug, he politely refused when offered a seat and an invitation to join the Weasley family in their meal.

"I have spent the day with Hermione and we have been talking, we have decided that we are no longer willing to allow other people or events influence or run our lives, we are going to live our lives the way we want, unfortunately what you want and what we want are totally different, neither of us wants to be married to a Weasley. In fact we want to be together and no matter how you feel about it, that is what we will do, no doubt I will eventually ask her to marry me, but it will be her choice if she says yes, it wont be because she was pressured into it by other people telling her it's the way its supposed to be, well that's it, that's all I came to say, so goodbye," Harry finished his little speech turned around and walked away from the Burrow.

Harry left behind a rather startled Weasley family, it was George that spoke first "Well done Harry, it's about time some one stood up to mum."

"George Weasley, how dare you…" Molly began before she was cut off by Arthur.

"Well said son, I knew Hermione was being pushed into marriage, I just never had the guts to say anything," Arthur shouted over his wife.

Molly's face fell as she listened to her husband "Was I really pushing that poor girl into a marriage she didn't want?" she asked

"Yes dear you were, your speeches about one big happy family, and that's the way it was meant to be, you were pushing Harry too, I'm just pleased they came to their senses," Arthur replied.

"But Hermione is supposed to marry me, you said so," Ron declared to his mother rather loudly.

"Ron it pains me to say this to one of my own sons, but you are just about the thickest wizard I ever laid eyes on," Arthur sighed.

"Hear, hear," said George not smiling.

Molly's face lost all its colour when Ron had spoken, she realised from his words she had almost ruined the lives of two young people she regarded as her own, two who she had said she loved, she felt little better than those people who had their children betrothed at birth, fated to marry someone they might not know, might not want to know, living their life without love.

If they still wanted his and Hermione's friendship it was now their choice to make, unlike them Harry was not willing to influence them.

Harry and Hermione stayed at her parent's house, and lived as Muggles until they were married a year later, they both acknowledged that love was far better than friendship and giving up their love was no longer an option.


	9. Chapter 9 Happy in Obscurity

Disclaimer. All the usual stuff about it being JKR property etc.

Happy in Obscurity

"You have to be there, we've always done everything together," she said quietly.

"Oh for gods sake granger, get it into your head, I am not doing it, I won't even be there. Now just sod off, and LEAVE ME ALONE," he yelled at her. They had been arguing for well over an hour and his patience was wearing thin, not only was this the first time they had ever had a real argument since the day they met, she just had no idea what she was asking of him.

She knew there was something more to this, something she could not quite figure out, something really serious. He had never once in all the time she had known him spoken to her like that, tears were streaming down her face but she would not take no for an answer until he gave her a reason. "Look he's your best friend, you can't just say no without telling us why," she tried to reason.

That was the last straw, "Best friend, him? I hate him so much I can taste it; oh no, he's no friend of mine. I even regret saving his stupid arse, I should have let the bloody Death Eaters have him," he hissed back almost hatefully.

"You know you don't mean that, he's been your best friend for years, why won't you tell me the truth," she had sunk into a chair and was now sobbing. "Well if not for him then do it for me," she begged him.

"I, I can't, why don't you just let me be, can't you see what its doing to me?" now it was his turn for tears but his tears were of frustration. "You're tearing me up inside. Just get out and don't ever come back," he finally said with a deep sadness in his voice.

"I can't just go and leave it like this, I can't walk out on you, you know that, I never could," she was resigned now, her heart felt heavy, and it seemed she had failed.

"Oh for pity sake woman, it's because you walked out on me, I'm bloody dying inside," he had never meant for the words to come out, but he just could not face the future he saw. "Why don't you just go, maybe I'll get lucky and some one will kill me before I have to see it again, just leave me to my despair," he prayed she would just walk away.

"Well I… Hang on I never walked out on you once since the day we met, I've always been there for you, don't you think you should explain that remark?" She asked as she began to wonder just exactly what was wrong.

"YOU LEFT ME, you left me for that thick, bad tempered, deserting, red headed shite, I hate you both, and if he hits you, I will kill the bastard" there he had finally said it the thing that hurt so deep.

"What do you mean if he hits me, he would never hit me," she gasped at him in shock.

"Don't you see what's right in front of your bloody eyes, did you never see him clenching his fists by his side when you argue over trivia, did you never know it's only because there are people around, that's why he hasn't hit you, I know the signs, I grew up with them remember," he told her in a pleading cry. "If you marry him I will end up having to kill him."

Now she was stunned, she knew Ron argued over nothing, he yelled at her for stupid reasons, she thought about what Harry said and she remembered the clenched fists, the storming off to cool down, the hateful looks, and hurtful remarks, and all that was like Harry said, always over trivial stupid little things, now she began to wonder what would happen if they were alone and they argued, she knew he got angry without reason, was this why Harry would not be best man, could Harry see his uncle Vernon in Ron. She knew he was right when he said he knew the signs, he had indeed grown up with them, there was no disputing he of all the people she knew would know what the signs were.

He knew he had said too much but now he decided to say it all, "Look, Hermione I'm saying this because I love you, no not just love you, I'm in love with you. Ron is not mentally stable and it's not just his red hair, I've seen that look in uncle Vernon's eyes. Up to now I have been able to protect you from his temper, How am I supposed to protect the woman I'm in love with if you marry the shit."

"Harry you don't know what your saying, you don't mean all that," she said the shock evident in her voice, but the shock came from realising Harry was right.

"What don't I know, that I've seen that look before a thousand times, just before my uncle lashed out and thumped me, or don't I know that he only wants you so he can think he beat me at something, like you are a prize of some sort to be won, or that I don't know who I love. Well for your information, I love you, deeply, totally, and eternally, I've loved you for years, I'll always be in love with you," He told her. "And now you know, so sod off back to your deserting boyfriend, and leave me alone." there it was all out in the open, he felt relieved, but he was still sick with worry about her and what she was getting into.

"Harry, you can't I would have…" she trailed off, she did not know what to say, her head was in turmoil. She was with Ron because Harry had Ginny; he had had since sixth year, hadn't he.

The little voice in her head that often tried to tell her she was making a huge mistake, spoke up for the first time in days, 'I told you Harry loved you, he dropped Ginny remember, you were happy with him when Ron deserted you, you have ignored me all this time and now you're in the shit, you know you love Harry, you never loved Ron he's just second best.'

"Harry, take me away, take me somewhere away from all this, take me somewhere safe," she suddenly asked him, letting her heart talk for her for the first time.

"You know I can't do that, if you've realised I'm telling the truth, you need to tell him it's all off, you have to tell him you are going away," He told her "I'll come with you, if you want me too,"

They were in the garden, the whole Weasley family, those that had survived the war. Harry and Hermione arrived just seconds apart. She saw Ron sitting on one of the garden chairs just a few feet away. He rose and closed the distance, then he tried to kiss her but she pulled back.

"We need to talk, I can't do this, I can't marry you," she rushed out, her eyes on the ground.

"What do you mean, you can't marry me, you can't just change your mind like that," he shouted going red in the face.

"I don't know if I love you," she said as she looked into his eyes, what she saw scared her.

"You will bloody marry me, you said yes," he yelled again, now the entire family were listening.

"Well now I'm saying no," she knew she had said it wrong as soon as it left her tongue, she should have been less direct.

"I wont bloody let you say no, you will marry me," she saw it a second after Harry had, Ron's fist was headed for her face,

Harry managed a protego charm just before Ron's fist connected but the force of the blow still knocked her to the ground.

"That's why I won't marry you, you bastard, Harry was right he said you would hit me," she screamed pulling her wand out.

Harry was standing with his wand at Ron's neck, "I always knew you were like uncle Vernon, I just never wanted to believe it," he said quietly.

Bill, Charlie, Percy, and George had formed a half circle around them, Mrs Weasley helped Hermione to her feet, then she turned around and spat in her son's face "No son of mine is a woman beater," she spat out with venom.

"Harry, leave it," Bill said anger showing in his voice.

Harry looked around at the brothers; he did not want to hurt any of them they had been nothing but good to him for years.

"Stay away from Hermione," he hissed in Ron's ear before he stepped backwards away from them.

Ron grinned, he had his brothers with him, Potter could do nothing. Ron should never have been so confident. His brothers set about him beating him unconscious "No one hits a girl, and no one hits our little Hermione," they yelled as their fists landed on any part of him they could find.

Harry took a crying Hermione away from Mrs Weasley, "We'll be leaving now, thanks for all you've done for us over the years, I'm sorry it had to end this way, but I've a friend who needs me right now, he told his surrogate mother as his arms went around Hermione and he disapparated taking her with him. It was the last time that the Weasleys had a visit from the two people they had thought of as family, they threw Ron out and disowned him, they also told every one that had been invited to the wedding why it was off, their shame about Ron was deep and painful.

Harry and Hermione married six months later in the little church that served the little village in Ireland that they now lived in, they never went back to England again, they had both seen and done too much to ever want to return. They were happy in obscurity.


	10. Chapter 10 Arise Sir Harry

Disclaimer! All the characters belong to the great J K Rowling

Arise Sir Harry James Potter.

The young twenty year old sat nervously in the back of the ministry limousine as it made its way across London. He prayed she would be there when he arrived. He felt certain that he would never be able to get through it if she was late or even worse if she did not even turned up. Yet he knew in his heart that she would be there. In all the years since the first time they met she had not once let him down. She was the only one he could truthfully say this about. His best male friend had let him down more than once and always at a time when he really needed the support, true it had only lasted for a few days or weeks, but it had happened and it was a memory he could not even begin to forget.

His childhood sweetheart had also let him down, though he did not blame her. As a lot of teenagers do, she had simply out grown him and gave up waiting for him. She had since become engaged and was happy now. He looked out of the darkened window as the limo crossed the bridge over the Thames. He was nearly there; it would only be a matter of minutes before he saw her.

Still he worried. He was not with her to protect her, to keep her safe. He gave a wry smile at this thought. She had protected him on more occasions than he wished to remember. It had been her intelligence and strength that had got him through it all; he knew he owed her a great deal. But what would he do if she was not there. Panic gripped him for a few seconds. Then he took a deep breath and told himself he was being foolish. Rubbing his hand through his hair he watched through the window as the limo turned into the grounds of Buckingham Palace slowly passing the smartly uniformly dressed guards.

"How the hell do I do this if she's not there? She's always been there, she's the only reason I got through all this," he said to himself as the car pulled up. The ministry driver got out and opened the door for him, feeling out of place he climbed slowly out of the car. "Is my tie straight?" he asked the driver.

"You look really smart sir," the driver said with an encouraging smile.

A Palace footman came forward to lead him inside, falling in step with the young footman he asked him "Are there any others here yet?"

"Oh yes sir, there are others here to receive honours or medals," the footman answered.

Feeling a little better he followed the young man into the corridors of the Palace. His heart leapt when he saw her standing there. She looked magnificent in a light blue outfit. She was standing with her parents and his other best friend. The family he had come to love were all there. Each one of them dressed in brand new morning suits. They looked a little odd to him and he realised that they must have gone through a great deal of trouble to find out the correct dress for the occasion. They gave him a wave as he was lead down the seemingly endless aisle between the many guests. The foot man left him standing in the front row facing the throne.

He could not do this alone he told him self and totally ignoring those around him and what they were doing he stepped out from the line and walked over to her. Taking her hand he simply said "I need you."

Without hesitation she walked hand in hand with him to the front row and together they stood in silence holding hands. The ceremony began shortly after and he heard his name called out. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and smiled encouragingly at him. Walking forward he knelt before the Queen and tried not to shake too much. He rose to his feet when the Queen said arise Sir Harry Potter. Bowing and backing off he returned to his place in the first row and stood next to the one who always gave him courage.

The ceremony continued as various people were called out and different medals and honours given out. Soon it was her turn to receive her award. Head held high she stepped forward and her medal was hung around her neck on a colourful ribbon. A proud look in his eyes met her as she returned to stand next to him and took hold of his hand once again.

His best mate Ron was the next one to step forward and he too got the recognition he deserved. Harry could not help thinking that at last his friend had received recognition for what he had done and not for being the best friend of Harry Potter. Several other friends who had fought in the Voldemort war were also honoured. All their names had been put forward by the Muggle prime minister. All received honours for bravery and services to their country.

A grand celebration was held for them at the ministry of magic and Harry was to be the guest of honour, and once again she stood by his side and held his hand. As the guest of honour he was expected to begin the dancing as soon as the speeches were over. He knew who he would ask to dance. He had had the opportunity only once before to dance with her but he had not had the nerve to ask her that time, this time he had. This time he knew that she would not refuse, she was his courage and strength.

He was suddenly surprised when all around him people were calling for him to make a speech. He was not prepared for this it was something he had not foreseen. Once again she came to his rescue slipping a piece of parchment into his hand. Glancing at it he realised she had written a short speech for him. Nodding at her with grateful relief he began to read.

'_First I ask you to stand for a minute and remember those who died in this long and terrible fight_.' After pausing for a minute he continued his speech. _'This war against Voldemort was not of our making. Yet we like so many before us had to stand up and be counted. We as so many before us had to fight against tyranny and evil. I hope that what we and those that did not make it to this day have done, serves to show those that come after us that the ordinary among us will not allow evil to reign. That there will always be those to whom freedom is vital, a necessity of life, something that will not be taken away lightly_.'

Finishing the speech he nodded at the minister.

He sat down relieved by the clapping that followed. It had been what they wanted to hear. He was once more grateful for her vast intelligence, she always knew what was needed, what he needed. The minister stood and announced that the ball would begin with Sir Harry Potter taking the floor with the woman of his choice. He gestured to Harry with a sweep of his hand. Harry noted the eager looks of many women, some who before today would not even acknowledge him. Ignoring them all he turned to the one he thought of as his tower of strength and held out his hand to her.

"Would you do me the great honour of having this dance with me?" he asked her in a bold and clear voice.

Taking his hand she blushed just a little as they walked to the centre of the floor. Fire ran through his veins as he took her in his arms and they waltzed across the floor. He knew what he had to say when he saw the look of love in her eyes. He leant in close to her ear the scent of her hair so fresh and flowery like lavender. He whispered "Thanks I could never have done that without the woman I love being here."

She looked down her hands shaking as he held them. Not quite sure she had heard what she had just heard. They were the words she had waited years to hear. Oh she had heard them once before but not from him. Not from Harry. No it had been Ron who had said them before, but she had no room in her heart for Ron as anything but a friend. Harry squeezed her hand and feeling brave he whispered to her "Would you do the immense honour of marrying me and becoming my Lady Potter, Hermione?"

Her reply was to kiss him right there in front of what now seemed the whole wizarding world. "I love you so much Harry," she whispered "and my answer is yes."

His heart did a leap and pounded in his chest as his feet became lighter and he felt like he was flying when she answered. While all around them people carried on dancing as if this ball were just like any other, Harry James Potter would tell them different if they asked, this was the best ball there had ever been.


	11. Chapter 11 I am not a Thing

Disclaimer, just the plot is my creation. JKR owns the characters.

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I am not a thing.

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Miss Hermione Granger, soon to be Mrs Ronald Weasley, was sitting with her friend Luna Lovegood; together they had devised a plot to get Hermione in to see her best friend Harry Potter. It had been two months since he had spoken to her, he avoided her like she had the plague and she was determined to find out the reason why. It hurt her so much when he did not speak to her; she had continually felt like crying.

She remembered the last time they had spoken, Harry had turned up for her engagement party, he had only been there for fifteen minutes when he finished with Ginny, and walked out without a word of good bye. He hadn't spoken to any of them since, it was breaking her heart not having her best friend to spend time with, to talk to or just to enjoy his company. For a whole week she had studied Luna, studied her movements and her little ways of doing things, now she felt ready, she could do this. Harry would see Luna and talk to her, he did not try to avoid her nor did he disappear from a room if she entered.

Luna plucked one of her hairs and passed it to Hermione; she placed it in to the freshly brewed polyjuice potion and watched it bubble. As soon as the bubbling stopped Hermione drank the entire goblet in one gulp, minutes later she was an identical copy of the real Luna, who was going to remain with Hermione's mum.

She could not have told him why, she didn't know, but she wanted to hear his voice, to be near to him, to hug him and feel his arms around her, she needed him, she did not know why but she just could not be happy without him in her life, and if she had to be Luna to be close to him, then she would be Luna. Ten minutes later Hermione knocked at the door of number twelve Grimmauld place. Her heart rate increased when she heard Harry ask who it was.

"It's me Luna; I've come to visit you." Apparently these were the words Luna used on every visit she made to this old run down house. Harry opened the door and invited her in; she followed him down to the kitchen and took a seat near the fire.

"How are you Harry?" she asked.

"I'm ok, still feeling heart broken but that's all." he grinned at her with a sad smile "butterbeer?"

"Yes please." She replied looking around in the vacant way that Luna did.

Harry passed her a bottle of butterbeer "Why is your heart broken Harry? You could always go back to her, I'm sure Ginny would forgive you."

"That's where the problem lie's Luna, its not Ginny that broke my heart, I don't think I ever loved Ginny at all, I think it was just that for a few short days, I had a normal life. I couldn't ask the girl I really love, so I did like all the other boys did, I chose another girl to try and fall for, it didn't work that's why I finished with her the first time, the second time it was even worse."

"Who is this mystery girl you love so much?" she could not resist asking.

"She's the most beautiful girl I ever met, she has those wonderful eyes, and she's smart and witty, she has a voice like an angel and she loves someone else." Harry said taking a gulp of his drink.

"So she's beautiful, but not available, did you tell her how you feel?" again she could not resist, if Harry was in love with some one, she needed to know who, she did not know why it was so important to her but it was, it gave her strange angry possessive feelings to think of him being in love with someone.

"No I never told her, I have known since we were in fourth year at school that she loves another so it would be a waste of time. I would hate to lose her friendship because of how I feel." sighed Harry.

"Luna I'm thinking of leaving, going abroad I mean, maybe America or Canada some place far away, would you think me a coward if I did go?" He asked guiltily

"It would be awkward visiting you, don't you think, are you going to tell me who this girl is you are running away from?" she looked at him and cocked her head to one side it was one of Luna's traits.

"She's engaged now, so I'm not really running from her, I just don't want to watch her with him, it's so painful. I am just pleased she's happy." he took another drink.

"So who is this woman you would give up your world to avoid seeing with another man?" she tried again.

"Funny I thought you of all people would know, the only girl I will ever love, the one I love so deep it hurts is Hermione, my best friend Hermione, I've loved her since the first time we met, first as a friend then in third year at Hogwarts everything changed, she just never knew I was alive that way, to her I'm just a friend, someone she can have a chat with. You know what really hurt's Luna, everything I ever did I did for her, or because of her. I remember having to drag Ron with me when we went after her, you know, when that troll was in the school, you know it was his fault she was in there and he didn't even want to go look for her.

For three years he told me he hated her, 'miss bloody know it all' he called her. I should never have told him I fancied her. That's when he changed, just after I told him, I think he is only with her to because of his jealousy of me, but I could never hurt her by telling her that. So now you know, I am deeply in love with my best mate Ron bloody deserter Weasleys fiancée.

Did I tell you she has been the only one that stayed with me through all these years, the only person in the world who was faithful through it all, she believed in me at the triwizard, Ron basically called me a liar, then through that year before the battle she chose me when Ron deserted me again, those were the best days of my life, having her to myself, holding her hand, feeling her arm around me, they were my worst nights though, she slept just a few short feet away, and I wanted to make love to her so much. I just hope he never deserts her after they marry." he took two long gulps of his beer.

"I won't be here next week, I'll be gone forever, you've been a good friend Luna. Tell Hermione I said good bye. See your self out please," he rushed out of the room and she knew it was because he was hurting badly inside.

Hermione needed time she did not have, she had been having some strange feelings since she had heard Harry say he loved her, she had begun to doubt Ron, she doubted why she was with him, she doubted her love for him, she doubted him, he had told her he fell in love with her when she had lied for them in their first year. Yet Harry said it was not that way, and Harry had no reason to lie to Luna, no reason at all, and had Ron only shown an interest in her because Harry had said he fancied her.

She was definitely confused; the only thing she was not confused about was in not wanting Harry to leave. She knew she would be devastated if he did, she wished now she had asked when he was leaving. Suddenly she knew the truth, she knew what these strange feeling were, why she had instantly hated the woman that Harry said he loved, and why she was so relieved to know it was her, she admitted to herself that they were the feelings of love, true and real love, and she knew what she had to do.

She just prayed she had the time, Harry would do something when he made his mind up, he did not wait around to find a different answer. At five that evening she met Ron as he left the ministry building, "We need to talk." She told him.

They sat on the park bench a small gap between them. "When did you start to fancy me?" she asked watching his ears for the tell tale red tips that would indicate he was lying.

"Huh, er, when you told them fibs for us in first year, why?" His ears were red instantly.

"Did Harry ever say he fancied me?"

"Nah he always thought of you as a sister," he was lying and she knew it from looking at his ears as the colour deepened.

"So he never said anything like that then? Oh, so why did you ask me to be your girlfriend?" she asked trying hard to remain calm.

"Well because I liked you, what a silly question." He replied.

"Ron, just humour me, we are supposed to be getting married after all," she said.

"So, when did you stop telling people you hated Granger the bloody know it all?" Hermione was getting fed up with his lies.

"I suppose in the first year, look Hermione what is all this about?" he wanted to know

"So if I asked Seamus or Neville, when you stopped saying you hated me, you think they would agree with you?" she was on a roll now as she realised she had never truly loved him.

"I, er, umh, I don't know," he began to stammer.

"You only started to fancy me because Harry did, you were jealous of him, that's all this is." she suddenly knew what his feeling for her were.

"It's true isn't it you only asked me to be your girlfriend so Harry couldn't ask me to be his, it's true, you only asked me to marry you because you want to have something Harry doesn't?"

"Have you been talking to Harry, you went to see him, I know you did." he growled, "yeah I was jealous of Harry, he was always your entire life, he was always first, you always looked after him, worried about him, he was the one you gave the hugs too, he was the one you would have died for. So I hated him, the bloody boy who lived, the hero, the one everyone looked at, the famous Harry bloody Potter, the one with all the money."

"Harry bloody Potter has not spoken to me for two whole months, do you really think a dim witted emotionless prat like you could keep me from finding out the truth, your bloody ears, they give you away, they turn bloody red when you are lying." She threw the engagement ring at him

"Now the bloody know it all, knows you only wanted me as the prize Harry never got, you just wanted to have something he didn't, well I'm not a thing, I am not a prize. This time you cocked up, you should keep your big fat mouth shut." She told him as she stormed away from him. "bloody jerk." She hissed.

Two hours later she was knocking on number twelve again, this time as her self. Harry asked who was there, then reluctantly let her in as she was so persistent. As soon as the door shut behind her she flung herself in his arms and kissed him, and for an unknown reason she thanked the heavens that she was right as her body responded to his lips in a way she had never felt before. Suddenly she was so glad she had never had sex with the red headed prat. That first unexpected kiss lit a fire in her she had never felt before.

"Hermione what will Ron say," Harry stammered as he backed away.

"Potter don't you be a prat too, I just got rid of one huge hateful prat, dumped him for the man I really love, the man I know loves me back for who I am." she shushed him with her lips on his, and he was lost in her kiss.

They talked over a cup of tea in the kitchen, she told Harry about the lies Ron had told her, she told him how she had realised, she was actually in love with him. How she had asked Ron some questions and how his ears had turned red, and got redder as she got closer to the truth. She told him the way Ron hated him and was jealous of him.

Harry admitted he had loved her since she had asked about a toad, he told her how he had told Ron so early on, "And I still love you so very much,"

Hermione made love for the first time that night, and she was so pleased it was a real man she had finally given herself too, the right man was in her arms at last. Harry had been her first lover and she knew he would be her last. And Harry, well Harry was the happiest man alive, the happiest man in the universe; he was loved by the one he loved.

By broomstick flyer with some help from merlinsaprentice1


	12. Chapter 12 DH After the epilogue

Disclaimer………

Disclaimer……….. All characters are the copyright of JK Rowling, mores the pity

Deathly Hallows after the epilogue.

Harry Potter, Hero of the wizarding world, looked around his small broom making work shop and sighed, he had made a decision that morning as he stood on the platform watching as his three children boarded the Hogwarts express and then waved as the train had left the station marking the end of the Christmas holiday, and his sixteen years of marriage to Ginny. His mind had been made up, he would no longer do the easy thing, it was time to take the advice offered so long ago by his mentor Albus Dumbledore and do what was right and not what was easy.

It was sixteen years ago since he had done the easy thing and not taken the right way out, and now he was regretting it all, all that is but his children. It had been many years since he and Ginny had shared anything other than their children and living in the same house, their love for each other had begun to die just after their fifth wedding anniversary, or maybe even before that, but it had been on that anniversary he had wondered why he had ever decided to marry her. Why had he allowed himself be talked into a future he did not want. It was the day he finally realised Ginny had been a substitute for the one woman he had truly been in love with. The woman he could never be with.

Pouring him self a glass of whiskey he pictured the scene his mother in law would create, he also pictured her face as he told her that it had been her meddling interference in their lives that had caused him a great deal of heart ache and tears over the years. Having taken a mouth full of the whiskey he swilled it around his mouth as though trying to remove the bad taste that thoughts of Molly Weasley ruining his life gave him. As he slammed his glass down beside the broom he was working on there was a knock on the door.

Hermione Weasley his best friend and wife of his other best friend walked into the workshop at his shout of "Come in, and close the door."

"Hi Harry, can I have a word with you?" she asked looking worried and a little teary eyed.

Harry lifted the whiskey glass and emptied the remaining contents in one swift motion, the liquid caused him to shudder, "Fancy one?" he asked as he indicated a chair for her to sit in while conjuring another glass.

"No not really, I just need to talk to you," she said as she took the offered seat.

"Ok you have my full attention," Harry said looking up and locking eyes with her, for a moment before she looked down at her hands clasped in her lap, Harry saw fear, fear and something else, something he had not seen for a long time, he saw the true determined Hermione Jane Granger.

"I need some money, I was wondering if you could loan me… well I don't know yet how much it will cost," Hermione whispered hesitantly.

"Has Ron lost his job again, is that it?" he asked noticing she had begun to shed some tears.

"NO HARRY, please, I don't want Ron to know about this, he scares me…" she trailed off her hands twisting together in her lap.

"Hermione, I think you should tell me what this is all about, don't you?" Harry said as he walked around the bench separating them.

Placing his arm around her shoulder he almost whispered "So what do you mean he scares you?"

Hermione was still shedding tears but she had the determined look she had had when they were teenagers,

"I'm leaving him, I want to get a divorce, we haven't been happy for a very long time, and now the arguing is getting worse, he has come close to hitting me quite a few times, I've seen it in his face, he's just afraid I'll curse him if he does, instead he smashes things then he goes out and gets drunk, he's always worse when he comes back, I cant take it anymore, I don't love him, I don't think I ever did, and I have no idea when everything started to go wrong," she ended as she turned and buried her face in his chest and let out the sobs she had been holding back.

"I know when things started to go wrong for me," Harry whispered not realising he said it out loud enough for her to hear.

Through her sobs Hermione heard and wondered what he meant, "What do you mean Harry? You know when things started to go wrong."

Harry thought about his answer for quite a while before deciding he would tell her everything, it could do no harm now, he had already decided he was finished with his marriage, and Hermione had just told him she was finished with Ron. Pulling some papers from a draw on his desk, he handed them to Hermione.

"I put in a petition for divorce this morning; I don't think I ever came close to feeling for Ginny the love I feel for you. It all started at the end of our fifth year at school, that day we went to the ministry, when I saw you lying on the floor I thought you were dead, when Neville said he could feel a pulse I was so relieved, I realised that day that I wasn't relieved because a friend was alive, it was because I was in love with you," he was saying.

Hermione gasped a little and was about to say something when Harry looked down at her "Let me finish," was all he said to quiet her, and she gave a small nod.

"During those holidays that year, I spent the first few days working out my feelings for you, I so looked forward to seeing you and telling you, but then the longer I went without getting any news or anything I started to put things together, I could see pictures in my head of you and Ron together at the Burrow holding hands, cuddling and kissing, having a good time, at first it made me really miserable but that changed to anger and hurt and jealousy. It was easy to vent my anger and hurt because everyone thought it was because of Sirius's death, there was a little truth in that but I hardly knew him really.

Anyway when we went back to school you kept your distance from me, it was so painful to know you did not want to be my friend or to spend time with me, I knew for sure that everything I had hoped for was lost when you first showed signs of being jealous over Lavender Brown, that was the day when everything really started to go wrong for me."

Harry finished speaking and reached for the whiskey poured a glass and then drank the lot in one gulp before continuing.

"As that sixth year went on and you obviously no longer wanted our friendship to continue I decided that I would try to forget my feelings and try to live like a normal teenager. I started to date Ginny, I even thought that with just a little luck it would hurt you just as you were hurting me, but again you showed me you didn't care about me and continued to hurt me and avoid me.

Then there was the hunt, I hated Ron so much but I decided to put up with him if I could be close to you, the day he deserted us I so wanted to comfort you but I just couldn't bring myself to do it, not when you were so obviously in love with him. Those days we spent alone in that tent, the times you held my hand, that day at Godrics Hollow at the grave side when you held me close, my hope that you felt something for me began to grow again, all those memories I treasured, I still do.

Then he came back and I hated him even more, the day when you were tortured I would have willingly killed him if I had just had a wand, while I was trying to think of a way to rescue you, to stop you from hurting, he just stormed around uselessly calling out your name.

Then on the day of the battle you kissed him passionately right in front of me and my new found hope died, I walked out of the castle then, I went to find Voldemort so that he could put an end to my miserable life, it was just my bad luck that having died I was sent back to suffer once again.

You were with him so I chose to listen to Molly and I took second best, I knew Ginny loved me a little even if it was love for the boy who lived, and not Harry Potter, I think I thought that with time she would get to know the real me, and I would come to love her, I was wrong."

Harry poured yet another glass of whiskey but instead of drinking it he just stared down at the amber liquid "I decided this morning to end it with Ginny."

For the first time since they had become friends Harry had no idea what Hermione was thinking or what she was feeling, he looked into her usually deep brown revealing gaze and was at a complete loss.

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry, I never once meant to hurt you, I would rather die than hurt you and yet it seems I hurt you more than even Voldemort did.

Seems I was not as clever as I thought I was, I have loved you Harry, ever since that day we went after the stone, remember when I said 'there are more important things – friendship and bravery, I was going to add love, but I never did.

My feelings for you have never changed, I have been in love with you for most of my life, I will always be in love with you, you have no idea how much I have regretted that year of being without you, I was supposed to be a Gryffindor yet I let my fear of the prophesy keep me away from you, I let you down and said you were being paranoid over Malfoy. Can you ever forgive me for so many mistakes; I have wished so many times that I hadn't kissed Ron that day, and I have regretted marrying him since the moment I said I do."

"If you have made mistakes they do not even come close to the number of mistakes I have made, I should be down on my hands and knees begging for your forgiveness, but all that was so many years ago, I think we should forget it, forget everything." Harry said quietly.

Hermione's head fell and her shoulders drooped, she had never regretted marrying Ron more than she did when she heard those last words.

"I think we should start again as though things never happened, we should begin afresh as from now," Harry said as he lifted her face with a finger then gently placed his lips on hers.

Although it was freezing cold and the rain poured down out side, at the feel of Harry's lips on hers for the very first time, Hermione felt that the sun had just shone through the grey clouds and righted her topsy turvy miserable world, bringing with it joy and happiness. She kissed him back releasing a life time of suppressed love.

They shared only the one kiss, one that was full of love and promise, Harry said he would visit Mr Griphook at Gringotts and have him arrange their divorces, they gave each other a tender hug as they parted to tell their partners they were leaving.

When Harry arrived home and told Ginny that they needed to talk she already knew what he was going to say, when he said he was leaving she did not cry or get angry, she just agreed and said it had been a long time coming, she wished him luck with the future as she helped him pack his things.

"We might have had a happy life if we had not let mum interfere," she said as they parted on the door step for the last time with a friendly hug and a gentle kiss goodbye.

Hermione was not as lucky as Harry, Ron began to accuse her of having affairs and of being a useless wife, losing his temper he tried to hit her but she was ready for him and froze him with a Petrificus Totalus charm before he was able to, "And that Weasley is the main reason I am leaving you, I knew it would not be long before you tried to hit me," she said as she packed her final belongings into her famous bag and walked out of the door "you will hear from my representative soon."

Once outside she vanished into the air, reappearing out side her parent's house where Harry stood waiting.

"I have seen Griphook and he has set everything in motion, he suggested we stay out of the wizarding world for a while until he has everything done," Harry said as they walked up the garden path to her parent's front door.

Hermione told Harry about Ron's attempt to hit her, he chuckled as he said "That guy is just so thick, to think that you the greatest witch of the age would let him hit you."

"How did things go with Ginny?" she asked as he knocked on the door.

"I think she wanted it just as much as I did, neither of us have been very happy for such a long time, she actually wished me luck," he replied.

"I wonder how Molly will take it?" she asked quietly.

"She has ruined so many lives with her meddling I don't really care how she takes it," Harry replied as the door opened.

Helen Granger stood in the door way, she looked down at their bags then slowly a smile grew on her face, "Hermione, Harry, it took you two long enough," she said as she led them into the house.

"What took us long enough?" Hermione asked her mother.

"Well for you two to see that you belong together of course," a quick flash of doubt flittered across her face "you are together?"

"I suppose we are," Harry said slipping his arm around Hermione's waist.

"You'll have to share a room," Helen said as she looked at their packed bags, just as Andromeda Tonks appeared from the direction of the kitchen "we have an old friend staying in the guest room for a while."

Harry and Hermione both blushed and shuffled a little like two teenagers, before Harry broke into a smile "It won't be the first time, we spent a year living together once."

Hermione gave him a loving look "Hopefully we can spend the rest of our lives together."

Andromeda grinned "That could be well over a hundred years you know," she said winking at them.

"Two hundred would not be enough," Harry replied as they followed Helen up stairs to Hermione's old room.

Their divorces were completed just six weeks later, Harry had split everything down the middle with Ginny, who seemed pleased that Harry was at last happy, Ron how ever was not very wise and after putting up a fight he had lost the house they had owned, and his access to the children was limited to supervised visits, he had still been shouting as the court had emptied.

Six months later Harry and Hermione were married; their children were there and were happy for them.

Outside the court room Molly Weasley had begun to shout at Harry when Ginny petrified her, then she berated Molly for all the hurt and misery she had caused, telling her mother that if not for her interfering both she Hermione and Harry could well have been happy with other people, she then went on about how her evil scheming had pushed Hermione into marrying some one she did not even like.

To make Molly Weasleys day just a little unhappier her husband Arthur had agreed with his daughter, and told her he had been ashamed when she had almost coerced Hermione into marrying the one boy who was forever hurting her, the one boy who was sure to make her life miserable.

I can't tell you here if Harry and Hermione lived happily ever after, but what I can tell you is that they have been truly happy until now, and they may still have over a hundred years together.


	13. Chapter 13 Kiss me again

Disclaimer all characters, settings, etc, are the copyright of JK Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishing

"Kiss me again Harry."

Ronald Bilius Weasley and Hermione Jane Granger were sitting in the three broomsticks, supposedly enjoying a butter beer, the silent air between the two of them was really strained, this time the reason for the tension was not the usual reason that Ron and Hermione sat in silence, there had been no argument, they had not been fighting or bickering as was usual, this time things were tense because they were on their first date.

Ron had finally plucked up enough courage to ask her out, she had agreed because he had been the only boy to show any interest in her as a girl since the forth year ball, since Viktor Krum. it was over two and a half years since Viktor had told her he just wanted to be friends, that there was no real chance of romance because he had his career to think of. The thing that surprised her a little at the time was that she had not been in the least bit bothered by his announcement, after all she did not really know him, still they had remained friends.

Hermione was getting a little annoyed by the continuing lack of intelligent conversation from Ron, she had tried several times to talk to him but each time he had either just stammered a little or nodded his head, and then gone back to being silent. She was beginning to wonder if this had been such a good idea, why had she thought that she could fancy some one who did not stimulate or challenge her, some one who, had it not been for her and Harry Potter would have been at the bottom of their class. She was sick of her friends being silent she had had enough of that from her best friend Harry.

Harry had barely said a single word to her since the big battle in Hogwarts castle four weeks ago, even when she had congratulated him on winning against Voldemort he had not replied or acknowledged that she had even spoken. She had no idea what was wrong with Harry, she had meant to find out but since the day of the battle when she had kissed Ron for reasons she no longer remembered, she had been caught up in all the funerals and press meetings and the castle repair work.

Madam Rosemerta was just bringing their meals to them when Harry walked in, Hermione saw her chance at finding out what was wrong with him, she was sure he would join them at their table, they were after all his best friends, they had just spent a year under canvas and destroyed Voldemort together. Something knotted tightly in her stomach when having seen them Harry scowled at her then turned around and walked back out of the door, a sick feeling of dread crept over her and settled in her heart as she wondered just what she had done that was so bad that the unthinkable had happened, she had lost the friendship of Harry, she could just not understand how it could have happened, the thought of living without him in her life every day suddenly terrified her.

Ron with his constantly downcast eyes had not noticed Harry at all, it was the final straw, she had had enough, getting up from her seat she pulled out her money pouch and put the galleon for the meal next to her untouched plate.

Ron finally managed to speak "We aren't leaving yet are we? I just started to eat."

Hermione looked at him for a few seconds before she answered "You just finish the food Ron, it's about the only thing you do well, this dating thing was not a good idea, I don't think we should do it again." With that said she just left him there and went in search of Harry.

It took her an hour to find him, and when she did it was in the very last place she looked. Harry looked the odd one out as he sat alone in the little tea shop he had once visited with Cho Chang. Surrounded by courting couples

Hermione managed to more or less trap him, as she sat down at the table he had picked. Harry was sat staring down into his cup of now cold tea lost deep in thought, he never even noticed her until he suddenly caught her scent as with a shudder he breathed in deeply. When he looked up at her, Hermione could see deep pain in his teary emerald eyes, he made a move to leave but she caught him by his arm,

"Harry we have to talk," she whispered to him "I need to know what I did that is so wrong."

"Can't you just leave me alone, go back to him," he answered standing there stiffly and not looking at her.

"Go back to him?" she asked not understanding why he said it the way he had.

"Yes you know, lover boy Weasley, the one who always let me down when he was needed the most," Harry answered almost angrily "the one who left you, the girl he said he was head over heels in love with, so go on desert me again and go back to lover boy."

Harry brushed her hand from his arm and despite her attempts to stop him he walked out of Madam Puddifoot's in what appeared to be a really bad mood. Hermione sat stunned for a few seconds before she rushed out after him, she looked up and down the small street but there was no sign of him, Harry Potter had simply vanished.

Harry had not returned to Hogwarts by the time the castle was closed down for the night and Hermione was beginning to really worry about him, over and over she ran their short conversation through her mind, but she could not work out what she had done that had hurt him so much he could no longer stand her touch or even wanted to be in the same room with her. Crying into her pillow for the loss of the best friend anyone could wish for she eventually fell asleep. The answer to her questions came to her in a dream, a dream that was full of both horror and love.

'_Harry lovingly held her hand as they walked through Godrics Hollow toward his parents house and she felt safe and comfortable, then they were in the graveyard and Harry had his arm around her, she had tenderly put her arm around him, again she felt safe and loved, and that was how they walked down the street following the crazy smelly old woman. hand in hand they jumped through the window to escape from Nagini the huge snake of Voldemort, Harry had gently cradled her in his arms that night as she woke crying from a night mare, for weeks everywhere they went, they went either holding hands or with their arms around each other, she always felt safe and loved when Harry held her, however he held her and he held her a lot. Then Ron returned and everything went back to how it had been before all the fear and uncertainty she had felt returned, and Harry stopped holding her'_

Hermione's dream drastically changed pace _'she was in Malfoy manor being tortured, the cruciatus curse seeming to be ripping her apart, each and every nerve in her body screamed out in burning pain, in her pain wracked cloudy mind she could hear Ron uselessly screaming her name, while he screamed in panic, Harry found some way to appear in front of her eyes and the pain eased then stopped, she thanked the angels above for him then all was blackness, when she came too it was Harry she thought of first'_

The dream changed again and all the times she had been insulted and shouted at by Ron filled her vision, '_she saw all the anger and hate in his eyes as he glared at her before storming off, then Harry was there hugging her, comforting her, the same thing happened when she was released from the hospital wing, it was Harry who had comforted her, It was Harry crying and panicking over her when she was injured by Dolohov, Harry telling her how clever she was, Harry telling her how good she was, and giving her the will and confidence to try harder in the defence class, Harry never raising his voice at her except for that one day when he arrived at Grimmauld place, but in her dream she saw that Harry was looking at Ron while he yelled, never really looking or yelling in her direction'_.

Hermione woke with a start it was still dark out and she checked her clock, it was only four thirty in the morning, rolling over she tried to fall back to sleep but her mind was filled with the dreams she had had, slowly she began to put together what it was her subconscious mind was trying to tell her, she was in love and it was not with Ronald Weasley, she was in love with the man who made her feel safe, in whose arms she felt comfortable and secure, in whose company she felt good and happy even when he was silent, she was in love with the man who had shown her how much he loved and cared for her, she was in love with Harry Potter.

The realisation hit her hard, like a freight train running through her mind, she remembered times when she had just enjoyed sitting and looking at him, taking in his dark handsome features, she remembered all her happy times at school had been when she was with him. She was in love with Harry Potter, she suddenly felt like yelling it from the roof tops, from the top of the astronomy tower except that it was no longer there. And then the pain began as she realised what she had done, she had kissed Ron, and she had kissed him at a time when Harry had needed her most, that was what the deep look of pain was in his eyes, he felt betrayed that was why he had been mad at her and told her to go back to Ron.

Hermione ran to the dorm where Harry and Ron had been sleeping, crashing into the room as fast as she could, she wanted to declare her love for him, she wanted to ask his forgiveness, to hold him and to be held once again in his safe secure loving arms, but the only one roused by her noisy entrance was Ron, Harry was not there.

She stared about wildly before she remembered he had not returned the night before. Pain like nothing she had ever felt before filled her heart as the realisation that he may never return filled her thoughts. Then someone was talking to her "I'm over here luv," she heard Ron Weasley say. She remembered she was still in her night dress but the pain she was feeling replaced any embarrassment she might have normally felt. She felt Ron put his arms around her and for one minute moment of time she almost fell against him and cried, instead she pushed him away telling him to leave her the hell alone, he had done enough damage.

Hermione cried her self to sleep every night for the following week, the more days that went past without Harry the more she felt the pain of losing him, it was worse than if she had seen him dead and in his coffin, because she had been the reason he was gone, she was the one that had hurt him enough to make him leave them, she needlessly blamed herself.

It was on Sunday morning when some one mentioned Teddy Lupin, as the name sank into her sorrow filled mind she had an idea just where she might find the man she knew she would love for all time.

Andromeda Tonks was surprised when Hermione arrived on her door step looking for Harry, it seemed for some reason she had been expecting a red haired girl. Hermione knew Andromeda was lying when she said she had not seen Harry, she could see it in the older woman's eyes, she had seen Harry and she knew exactly where he was, she also knew Harry had probably begged her not to tell anyone where he was, Hermione knew he was nursing a broken heart, and she had been the one to break it.

"When you see him, tell him I love him, tell him I'll wait for how ever long it takes for him to forgive me, tell him I'll still be in love with him when I'm old and grey," Hermione said as she walked toward the door.

She was half way down the garden path when she heard the voice she longed to hear as he whispered her name, "Hermione."

Her heart almost exploded with joy when she turned and saw him standing there on the door step holding out his open arms to her, before she knew what she was doing she ran to him and threw herself into his arms, the arms she felt so good in, the arms she belonged in, their kiss was filled with a passion she had never felt before, boundless love seemed to fill her very being, every part of her celebrated the joy she felt from that one kiss, their first kiss, a kiss that would never be forgotten.

And then his words as he told her he loved her, words she suddenly knew with out a doubt she had wanted to hear since she was eleven years old "I love you Hermione, more than anyone or anything in the world."

Standing in the comfort of his arms, all the tears of the past few days were forgotten, all the pain taken away, all she felt now was love, deep and everlasting.

Harry told her he had been avoiding Ron and not her because he did not want any hassle about getting back with Ginny, a girl he hardly knew, a girl he could never truly love because his heart belonged to her and no one else could hope to share it.

Hearing his words she had just one thing to say, "Kiss me again, Harry," she asked as she held him tight.


	14. Chapter 14 Two weeks, Two weddings

Disclaimer……….. All characters are the copyright of JK Rowling

Two Weeks. Two Weddings.

Hermione Jane Granger, on her way to the living room to collect her bouquet, stopped on the stairs as she heard the familiar voices from the kitchen.

"So Harry, you don't think you will ever marry, how come?" she heard George Weasley ask her best friend.

She heard the reply as Harry started up the stairs "No, not me George," Harry answered, then in a very low whisper she knew George would not hear, she heard Harry say "The only woman I'll ever love is marrying your brother today."

Hermione backed away panic and pain flooding her heart, she quietly moved quickly back up the stairs; she did not want Harry to know she had overheard the conversation.

"Well, I'd best get on, best man and all that," Harry said as she heard him resume his journey up to Ron's room.

She turned and entered the bathroom on her left, not quite closing the door. She was looking out of the fine crack between the door jam and the door when she saw him wipe tears from his face, take a deep breath, and brace him self for what was to come. Her heart cracked at the sight, tears filled her eyes, and she wondered how long he had loved her and how he had hidden it so well. Two hours before she was to marry Ron, and she suddenly realised, it would be just like Harry to hide his feelings from them, right from the first time she dated Ron he would have hidden his true feelings. Harry would never knowingly hurt anyone, especially his friends, even more so his best friends. He was that sort of man. She knew he would give up his own happiness for his friends.

It dawned on the brightest witch of the age that she had not been quite as bright as she should have been. Dating Ron to get over her love for Harry had been a colossal mistake. A huge mistake she should never have made. She should have waited longer; she should have waited until after the war was over. She should have given Harry time to work out his feelings. She had known how bad he was feeling when he told Ginny that there was no chance they could ever get back together. That he could not love anyone yet. She should have known he needed time. But she had started dating Ron to ease her own pain, and had just let things happen. She admitted to herself that she had never loved Ron, but thought that if Harry was not available to her, she might as well move on and try to be happy, after all Ron was her best friend too. Maybe she could grow to love Ron as more than a best friend. She thought on these things as she absentmindedly collected the bouquet, and joined the girls who were waiting to prepare her in Ginny's room.

Hermione found herself at the alter when she realised why she had continually put off having sex with Ron, not letting him touch her intimately, it was not because she wanted to wait till her wedding night as she had told Ron. She would have been exstatic if Harry had wanted her that way, she would never have been able to resist him. She had dreamt of Harry being her first lover for years, imagined every possible way it could have happened. She loved Harry more than enough to give herself to him anytime he asked, not waiting for him to marry her. She just could not find the courage to allow Ron the intimacy. She did not want Ron touching her body, the body that truly belonged to Harry.

She heard the words '_Do you Hermione Jane Granger, take this man to be you husband'_ pushing through her thoughts, and she cried out "No!" before the sentence was completed. "No, I can't marry a man I don't love," she gasped, then tears falling down her cheeks she made a run for it, not knowing where she was going, needing to get away she just ran.

Ron stood frozen to the spot, his brain process working slower than usual, was trying to figure out what had just gone wrong with his dream. Harry was the first to react, and he rushed after Hermione as she ran toward the small lake behind the Burrow. It did not take long with his longer legs to catch up with her. He caught her by her elbow and she stopped running. She sank her head into his chest as he reached out to her and pulled her into a comforting hug.

"I'm so sorry Harry," She sobbed "I never meant to hurt anyone, especially you. It's you I love Harry." She continued to sob into his crisp white shirt, soaking the front with her tears; Harry looked around and saw that a few people had followed them. "Could you give us a moment?" He asked as they all drew nearer.

Harry could not cope well with crying women, and a crying Hermione would normally send him into a panic, but she needed him now more than she ever had before. "Hermione you need to stop crying and listen to me, I'm going to turn around to walk back over there in a moment, if you're sure you can't go through with this, and need to talk to me, then apparate to Grimmauld Place, no one will look for you there. I'll be with you in a few minutes; I just need to see how Ron is." Harry whispered so no one else would hear.

Harry turned to walk back toward the alter wondering if she would follow, when Hermione vanished with a quiet popping noise. Harry tried hard to look shocked as the Weasleys walked toward him. Ron was in good hands, his two eldest brothers were talking to him, so Harry organised a small search, Mrs Weasley went to Hermione's mothers, Ginny went to her flat, Harry sent Luna to Hogwarts, while he said he would check out the Leaky Cauldron. Just a few short minutes later Harry found Hermione staring into a cold empty fireplace in the kitchen of his house in Grimmauld place. No one had used the house since the end of the war, and it seemed cold and forbidding. Sitting down beside Hermione, Harry conjured a fire, then waited.

Several minutes passed as they sat there in silence, he knew she would speak when she was ready; he pulled out his wand and waved it toward the pantry then deftly caught the two butterbeers that flew slowly to him. Unscrewing the tops he passed one to her and sat back once more. Hermione leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder before she spoke.

"It should have been us at the alter today," she paused "I'm sorry I hurt you so much Harry." She began to sob again.

Harry gently placed his arm across her shoulders and pulled her closer "You know then? You know I love you?" he whispered

"I do now Harry. I don't know how things got so out of my control, I just dated Ron because I thought you didn't care for me like that; I just needed to try to forget how much I love you. I have no idea how things happened, I seem to have been living in a haze of doubt and pain, it all seemed to be running away with me, then today I just couldn't, not when I love you so much." She said as she looked up at his calm green eyes.

"What do we do about Ron, I suppose I'll have to ask him to forgive me," She murmured as his arm tightened around her.

"So this is all my fault, if I hadn't been so blind... I know this is not the time to ask, but when this is all settled, would you marry me Hermione?" he asked.

There was no great excitement in her voice as she answered quietly as she placed her hand in his. "That's all I ever wanted Harry. Loving you and taking care of you is what all my life has been about. No matter what happens I'll always love you, so yes I'll marry you," She replied "I should go back, face the music."

"I'll come with you," He offered as he placed his empty bottle down beside his chair.

"No Harry, I have to do this alone, wait here for me, I won't be long." She said as she stood to leave.

Harry stood and reached out pulling her into a hug, a few seconds later he placed a gentle kiss on her lips, "I have a big surprise for you when you get back." Harry said teasingly.

Hermione gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek as she opened the front door. "I'll be back soon love." A small popping sound announced her return to the Burrow; taking a deep breath she turned to face an angry Ronald Weasley.

"Hermione WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?" He yelled.

Hermione calmly took a deep breath before answering, "I can't marry you Ron. I can't love you, I tried but I can't." she almost whispered.

"HERMIONE, WHAT, WHY?" He yelled again

Calmly as she could Hermione answered "That's why Ron. I can't love a man who is always angry and arguing, always yelling. I just came back to say goodbye and to get my trunk, I'm sorry Ron." She tried hard to remain calm as she collected her things and put them in her trunk, she apologised to the Weasleys who had of course heard what she had said to Ron. Mrs. Weasley pulled her to one side "You shouldn't have left it so late Hermione love, but be happy with Harry."

With a tear in her eye Mrs. Weasley led the other Weasleys away. Hermione was surprised that the Weasley matriarch had seen what she herself had been blind too. The last words she heard from the Burrow before she apparated to Grimmauld place, were Mrs. Weasley shouting at Ron, saying she knew his bad temper and big mouth would drive Hermione away. It wasn't the whole truth but it was the part of the truth that would hurt Ron the least. She just could not tell him she was deeply in love with his best friend.

Harry was still in the kitchen when she entered, she was still in her wedding robes and she had fresh tears running down her cheeks as he pulled her into yet another tender hug. '_Harry can be so gentle, so unlike Ron'_ she thought as she settled into his embrace. She told Harry what she had said as Ron yelled at her "It would have hurt him too much if I said it was because I love you."

Harry left her there to get changed while he went back to the Burrow, he would collect his things say his goodbyes, and return as soon as possible he told her. Mrs. Weasley was waiting for him when he returned. "Did you find her Harry? I knew it would happen. I'm just glad she realised how much she loves you before she married my Ronnie. It'll cause less pain all round this way, divorces are such messy things."

Harry hugged his surrogate mother in thanks, knowing that she did not blame him for what had happened. After giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, something he had never done before, he said goodbye and Disapparated. He was back by the time Hermione had showered and changed, "Ron's just stomping around yelling at everyone, so I said that I would be going home and I left," He told her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He also told her what Mrs. Weasley had said. Hermione felt a wave of relief wash over her as she heard that Mrs. Weasley did not blame her or Harry for something they had no control over. She hoped that eventually Ron would feel the same way.

"We have to leave here early in the morning," He announced as she made them a cup of tea

"Where are we going? Anywhere nice?" she asked a smile on her face 'After all these years I finally have my Harry' she thought.

"Well I was going to send you and Ron on a trip. I still have the tickets and the transport by portkey activates at four-thirty in the morning, so we need to be at the ministry to check in about three." he smiled.

"But where are we going?" she asked as she snaked her arms around his waist. "Come on Harry tell me."

"You'll see in the morning love, now don't be impatient and give me a kiss," Harry grinned; he knew she would love the surprise he had for her.

The kiss she gave him was the first real lovers kiss they shared, it was full of passion and desire, fuelled by a mutual need for each other. An hour later they went to bed together and she made a note to her self '_I knew I could never wait to make love to Harry'._

The portkey trip seemed to be the longest Hermione could remember taking, she had no doubt they had travelled a long way. Her legs almost gave way when she landed with an unusually heavy thump. She and Harry held onto each other preventing them from falling. Harry quickly checked his watch.

"Come on we have about half an hour before the restaurant reservations," he said as he wrapped his arms around her. With a slight pop they vanished to reappear in the lobby of a rather nice hotel.

"Do we have a room here?" Hermione asked as she looked around.

"No we're here to pick someone up." Harry answered evasively.

Hermione knew from his eyes that Harry was up to something and she also knew it was something big. She was just about to ask about it when she recognised the voice that called her name. "Hermione!"

Turning with a speed she did not know she possessed, Hermione faced the person the voice had come from, "MUM! DAD!" she yelled as she threw her self at her parents. Parents she thought she had lost, her mum and dad had been missing somewhere in Australia. Their memories altered to keep them safe during the war. All her searching for them had ended in failure and sorrow, but now here she was kissing and hugging the two people she thought she would never see again.

Harry stood back trying to hold back the tear that threatened to fall as he watched the tearful reunion of the woman he loved with her parents. The sight gave him yet another reason to be happy about what had happened.

"Harry found us. From what the man from the embassy said, it seems your friend Harry has been here searching almost every weekend for quite some months. Quite a man that Harry of yours," Mr Granger told her as the hugging and kissing died down enough for him to speak.

"Yes dad quite a man is my Harry, he asked me to marry him yesterday and I said yes, I hope you approve," Hermione said proudly then chuckled as she kissed Harry's rather red cheek.

Over dinner Hermione told her parents all about the war and why she had sent them away with false memories so she could keep them safe. She told them about nearly marrying Ron, and how it had almost been the biggest mistake she had ever made, she told of not giving Harry time to get over all the things he had suffered. She tried to tell them just how much Harry meant to her, how she loved him so much it was almost a physical thing that could be touched.

Two weeks holiday in Australia with her parents, were just what Hermione needed to get over the non wedding of her and Ron. It also helped to relieve her of tensions that had grown due to the harassment of the press she had suffered back in England. In Australia Hermione the famous war heroine was now just unrecognised Hermione the tourist. She missed Harry of course, he had had to go back to London to work but now after two weeks with out him he would be joining her and her parents later in the day. Hermione had her own big surprise for Harry. Today she was nervous and her mother had to keep reminding her to calm down. "You'll wear yourself out, and that just won't do."

Four thirty pm. Harry arrived at their hotel door; Hermione almost bowled him over when she launched herself into his arms. The kiss that they shared was so passionate that it actually embarrassed Hermione's mum and dad. Harry's face turned a nice shade of red when he realised how they were embarrassing the older couple.

"Will you marry me, Harry." Hermione blurted out.

Surprised Harry said "You know I will. I already asked you."

"No Harry, I mean will you marry me tonight," Hermione laughed as she watched the look in his eyes as he registered what she had said.

Several long and quiet seconds ticked by and Hermione's old insecurities about herself being good enough for Harry began to surface in her thoughts. Then Harry was speaking quietly.

"Ok if that's what you want. To be honest the sooner I can say that you are my wife the happier I will be."

Hermione could hardly believe that Harry did indeed actually want to marry her, she was brought out of her thoughts on why he should have said no, when he pulled her into a hug and kissed her so tenderly it brought a tear to her eye.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger had arranged for a sunset wedding on the local beach. When they arrived there they were welcomed by several witches and wizards from the local community who were waiting for them, one of them was the local jeweller and he had brought along a selection of rings. Harry and Hermione both went for the same ring together, it was a Celtic woven design made with two rings of white gold and one ring of pink gold.

The huge grin on Harry's face as the ceremony was held, made Hermione's heart race, and she knew that she had made the right move. She knew that this time she had definitely done the right thing. She would not have to grow to love Harry, because she already loved him more than life its self, though she was sure that her love would grow deeper and stronger with every passing day.

That night Hermione Jane Potter was the happiest witch in the world, only two weeks after she almost made the biggest mistake of her life. She had her parents back, and she was married to Harry, the man she had been in love with since she was eleven years old. That day she could have faced Voldemort all alone, and come out on top she thought.


	15. Chapter 15 Guardians of Magic

Disclaimer all characters, settings, etc, are the copyright of JK Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishing

Guardians of Magic

In a remote farmhouse somewhere in north Wales, a rather ancient looking old man slowly stroked his white beard, at this time of year he could easily be mistaken for father time, sipping his glass of hot mead he wondered how long it will be before the young man asleep in the next room will awaken, they have a lot of work to do while he still has the ability to do what needs to be done.

Looking at the bedroom door he remembers back to the day just a month ago when the idea came to him, he had been walking past a book shop where they were having a Christmas sales drive of Harry Potter books, a copy of each book had been accompanied by an illustration done by a local artist, what had caught his eye was the illustration done for Chamber of Secrets, sixteen year old Tom Riddle seemed to be coming out of the pages of a book.

He had read the books of course, it was part of his job to keep a check on what people found out about the world of magic, a world that was nothing like the worlds usually written about, there were no fairy's or goblins, no elves or elite or separate form of humans that possessed magic, the only truth behind most tales of magic were himself and dragons, though he had not seen a dragon since he had been a young man, true magic was the part he was charged with keeping watch over, magic could be performed by anyone who took the time to work it out, any one who really tried, anyone who truly believed, they had a term for it, it was a miracle. It was his job to prevent that magic being used for evil purposes, but the time was quickly approaching when he had to hand the job on to some one younger, he was looking forward to the day when he was finally able to join his family, it had been such a very, very long time.

He had also been dreading the day when he had to pick someone to pass the work onto, he could not find it in his heart to tear someone from their life and inflict up on them the same things he had had to endure, loneliness was the worst part, to walk around the world surrounded by people and yet to be totally separated from them, to watch those people he got to know and yes sometimes even love, to watch them age and die while he just carried on living was so painful. But those illustrations had given him an idea and after much work he had found just what he needed.

A cough and the creaking of the old bed upstairs let the old man know that the young one had woken, he poked at the fire bringing the flames back to life, just a few short seconds later he watched as the steam began to rise ever more forcefully from the kettle's spout.

Two steaming mugs of tea were set on a rough wooden table sitting in the centre of the farmhouse kitchen, Harry Potter stretched and yawned as he made his way to the empty chair in front of him, "Morning," was all he could manage before he had taken a sip of tea.

"So you read the books then?" the old man asked knowing the answer already.

"Yeah, I read them."

"And?" asked the old man.

"And it's still hard to believe, but I have no memories of anything outside of the things written in those books, It was hard accepting that just a month ago I was just a figment of someone's imagination, a character in a book, now though I have read the books and you were right every thing I remember saying or doing is in those books, I have no memories of normal things like going to the loo, which let me tell you was a strange experience," Harry said going a little red.

"Yes sorry about that, I should have given more thought to those sort of things, but then again using a zip and knowing how to use the toilet are things I take for granted these days, anyway you know now so no harm done," the old man replied smiling.

"So what do I do now?" Harry asked as he savoured his drink.

"Tonight will be the last night I have enough power to do as I promised," the old man said sadly.

"Well it wasn't a hard decision, even though I didn't agree with the books, in fact I sort of chose the opposite to the seventh book," Harry told the old man, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Well son, I have to agree with you there, so shall we get started?" the old man said getting up from his chair "you should bring the book with you, make sure you have the seventh."

The two men made their way out across the fields, the bright moonlight revealing the path, they had a ten minute walk before they reached a circle of standing stones atop the hill, the old man removed the last few pages from the book before he lay the open book in the centre of the stones facing the night sky, then he began the long ritual needed to complete his life's work. Slowly he circled the stones as he recited some ancient druid prayer; over and over he repeated the process.

Thirty minutes after the ritual began Harry, doing as instructed, walked slowly into the centre of the stone circle and lifted the book, the pages felt strangely warm in the cold night air, remembering his instructions he sat down crossed legged and held out the book in front of him, his elbows resting on his knees, slowly a mist began to gather hovering just above the book, as the old man kept the ritual going the mist began to take shape and solidify, it was a very slow and wondrous process and Harry watched wide eyed. It was twenty minutes later a bright flash of golden light seemed to leap from the stones to the book and then there standing in the moon light was Hermione Jane Granger.

Apart from her being totally naked, Hermione looked nothing like Harry had pictured her while reading the books, she was not short nor was she skinny and she was most definitely not plain, and her hair was not so bushy. The old man rushed over and wrapped her in a thick blanket before leading them back to the farm house.

After feeding Hermione a bowl of chicken soup Harry helped her into bed, placing a light kiss on her forehead he wished her good night before making his way back to the kitchen.

"She is amazingly beautiful," Harry stated when he sat at the table with the old man.

"Yes well that must have been the way the writer pictured her to begin with, I am just glad I had the power to repeat the process," the old man sighed.

"You look tired, you should get some rest," Harry told the old man as he got up to refill the kettle "I'll keep watch for tonight."

Harry spent the first few days with Hermione teaching her all the basic things he had found out about being in the real world. She in turn taught him about things she new and read about. After that they began to read together, when she read the Harry Potter books she agreed with Harry that if she was going to fall in love with one of the characters it would have been him and not the Ron Weasley character.

"After all, what kind of boy would go off and leave someone he was in love with, living alone in the middle of nowhere in a tent with another boy, and what kind of girl would fall for a boy who spent most of his time upsetting and hurting her? life with him would be one constant argument," she said after she put the last book down.

For the next month, sixteen hours a day, the old man taught them all that he could, they learnt together and their love for each other blossomed, and because it was required the old man married them toward the end of the month, and gave them a day off from study.

The following morning Harry carried two mugs of hot fresh tea up the stairs, a quick knock with his elbow on the door and Harry walked into the first bedroom, Hermione was just stretching under the bed sheet as he placed one of the mugs on the bedside table, "Morning Hermione," he said happily leaning over to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

Leaving Hermione waking up, he made his way to the next room, the old man had not woken up, Harry placed the mug on the table and shook the old mans shoulder.

It was a very quiet Harry that re-entered the room where he and Hermione had slept; slowly he walked over and sat next to her on the bed.

"Merlin has died," was all he said before she sat up and wrapped him in her arms.

"Well he warned us the time was short," she said letting a tear fall.

"Yeah, but I sort of, oh I don't know, I didn't realise what he really meant till now," Harry said holding her tight.

"I wonder if our thousand years as guardians of magic started when we arrived, or did it start when Merlin died?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know does it matter?"

"Well not yet but when our time comes in a thousand years, will you go before me and leave me alone, or will we go together?" she asked in a whisper.

"I don't really know, but one thing I do know for sure, thanks to Merlin in a thousand years time Harry Potter will still love Hermione Potter…"


	16. Chapter 16 The friendly kiss

Disclaimer all characters, settings, etc, are the copyright of JK Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishing

The Friendly Kiss

He couldn't do this anymore, he needed to get away, to no longer feel the way he did, to never have been born would be a mercy, his heart was breaking and for the past three months it had refused to let him sleep properly, for the past three months he had only slept when exhaustion had claimed him. His ex-girlfriend had noticed the change in him two months ago, two months since he told her it was over, she had cried and yelled and even begged but the pain he felt in his heart had grown too great, he had to let her go because he knew he didn't love her, he never had, he had been in love with another for six long years.

Today the pain was so much more, today he had the memories of just the night before, memories of his twenty first birthday party, the memory of her placing that tiny friendly kiss on his lips as she wished him a last happy birthday before she left him to suffer yet again. He had watched her leave his flat arm in arm with his best mate, and his heart screamed out stop but his mouth said nothing as she disappeared into the night.

As he stared out into the early morning mist he remembered the visit they had made, that night three months ago, exactly ninety five pain filled nights ago, they had called in to tell him they were getting married, they had seemed so happy together and they wanted him to be their best man, even now as he relived the worst night of his life he wondered how he had managed to remain calm, to agree to their request. But now he made up his mind, there was no way he would be able to do it, he had to get away, he had to leave, he would leave this country, live somewhere where he would not have to see her, where he would not have to watch her with another man.

He spent the day packing his things away, everything he owned he carefully packed away, everything except the photographs of her and Ron together, he left them where they were, unable to destroy them yet not wanting to see them, they were in a small pile on his kitchen table. It had taken him the best part of the day to pack everything away, the last three hours he had been trying to write her a letter, to explain, to say goodbye, the pile of screwed up parchment was testament to just how hard he was finding it to say what he needed to say without revealing his true feelings.

All he had written after three hours of struggling were six words that actually said nothing, he slammed his fist down on his desk and swore before he got up and made him self a drink, taking his time over his cup of tea he thought deeply about what he wanted to say, and why he did not want to tell her the truth, it was simple, he just did not want to risk hurting his best friend in any way. He just needed to tell her he was going away, and he would not be returning, why then was it so hard to do, he knew the answer was simple, he was being a coward.

He was still struggling an hour later when he heard the knock on the door, he turned the unfinished letter over and slowly walked to the door, he felt annoyed because he had made it clear in his note that he wanted his stuff to be collected in the morning. He snatched open the door expecting the removal men, what he saw made his heart leap before it once again plummeted down in to the lower reaches of his stomach.

"Oh, it's you," was all he said as he looked into the eyes that were one of the reasons he loved her so much.

The surprise on her face when he stood in the door way without inviting her in was not hidden, the surprised look turned to a frown as she looked past him into the almost empty room.

"Harry whats going on?" she asked him.

Not knowing what to do, yet not wanting to talk standing on the door step he stood to one side to let her enter, he took a deep breath as he slowly closed the door. He could tell she knew it was a silly question but she asked it anyway. "Are you going somewhere?" she asked

I tried to write you a letter," he said as he handed her the piece of parchment from the table.

She gave him an odd look as she read the few words he had written, "Dear Hermione I am so sorry..."

"Sorry for what Harry?" she wanted to know.

"I can't do this anymore, I have to get away," he answered simply.

"Can't do what? What is it you have to get away from? Is it Ginny, is she what this is all about?" she asked reaching out her hand to him.

"No Hermione it's not Ginny, it's you," he said closing his eyes tight so he would not have to see her face.

"Harry I don't understand, what do you mean it's me?" she said so quietly he only just heard her.

Taking a few seconds to build up his courage he breathed deeply, opening his eyes he looked at her, and his tears began to fall, tears he had tried so desperately to hold back for the past three months.

I've loved you for most of my life, ever since the day we fought that troll, but I have been _in love_ with you for the past six years," he told her then turned away "you should go now."

Hermione did not move "Six years Harry, since you were only fifteen, why did you never tell me?"

"I never expected to live after the war, I couldn't tell you before, not while Voldemort was still alive, not when I thought I would die, then you kissed Ron, became a couple and I couldn't tell you after that, it's been breaking my heart for six long years Hermione, I just can't take anymore," Harry replied rubbing away at his tears while he looked at his feet.

"Harry! oh God! oh god! oh god," she repeated as she began to pace the room.

He wanted her to leave; he did not want her sympathy, that was the last thing he wanted. He was about to ask her to leave yet again when she sat at the table on the only chair left in the room.

"What on earth, I mean how do I tell Ron?" he heard her ask.

"You won't have to, he'll know soon enough," he replied.

"No, I have to tell him, it's only fair that he knows, but I don't know if I can face him," she said confusing him.

"Hermione you're not making any sense, why would telling him I left make you worry about facing him?" Harry asked looking up from the floor.

"Haven't you wondered why I am here, I came to talk to you," Hermione said her head bowing toward the table.

Harry said nothing, he had not even considered why she was here, all he knew was he needed her to leave because he was hurting and needed to be alone.

"He keeps asking me to sleep with him, I've been telling him I want to wait till I'm married, but that's not the truth, I realised when I got home last night, I can't do it, I can't marry him, not while I am still so deeply in love with you. Oh Harry, he was the only boy who ever asked me out, the only one who asked me to be his girlfriend, me plain old Hermione the bookworm, I thought he was my chance to get over you, but last night after that kiss I knew that was not reason enough to marry anyone, that's why I came here, I had to find out how you feel," she told him without looking up.

Harry walked over to her then kneeling down next to her he wrapped his arms around her and rested his head between her breasts "I love you so much," was all he said before she lifted his head in her hands and kissed him the way she had always wanted too.


	17. Chapter 17 Unrequited

Disclaimer all characters, settings, etc, are the copyright of JK Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishing

Unrequited Love

There she goes again, every morning she walks past me and wishes me a good morning. She has to be the most beautiful young woman in the world, she has a really nice shapely pair of legs they just have to be the best pair of legs I ever saw, they match perfectly with her absolutely perfect body. Breasts that are maybe just a shade smaller than average but they are complimented by the rest of her body being in perfect proportion.

Her sultry brown sparkly eyes have a light in them that bursts into flame when ever she laughs, her voice once so bossy and hard is now soft and unquestionably sexy. It sends a shiver down to my-, yes well never mind that bit, when ever I hear her speak.

I have watched her grow from a little eleven year old girl into the woman that Witch weekly has named as the most beautiful brain to have ever come out of Hogwarts. I watch as her hips sway slightly as she walks and I look forward to Saturday because I know that on Saturday she will come in to work in her Muggle clothes. We all wear casual clothes if we are working at the weekend.

Last week she came in wearing a light cream coloured summer dress that enhanced all her curves and made my knees go weak. She wore a pair of those Muggle shoes, stilettos I think they are called, had at least a two inch slender heel; her legs looked even more beautiful in them. I was nearly fired last week; I just could not get my mind to concentrate. Instead of thinking of ways to detect illegal magic I was thinking of her.

I would gladly have my right arm amputated just for a chance to hold her in my arms or maybe that should be 'my arm'. Anyway day after day and night after night I sit and dream of her. What would it be like to kiss those cute pink lips, to run my fingers through her hair?

I remember the first time I saw her, her hair all bushy and looking like she had travelled the whole way to Hogwarts with her head stuck out of the train window, it always had a sort of soft wildness about it. Now it hangs well down past her waist and is no longer bushy, it's now full of waves and it sways as she walks away from me, how I would like to see it spread out across a pillow.

I am so much in love with her that it is driving me crazy, I get a huge lump in my throat every time I think about it. I know she will never feel anything for me, I know that I will never get to hold her or tell her how I feel, and never will I be able to share a cuddle or a small romantic moment with her. Blast, how I have come to hate 'love' yet there is no way I can give it up, no way I can force my self not to dream of her.

I look at her slender fingers as she takes a folder from my hand and a tear forms behind my eyes, but I am a grown man in love with the greatest witch alive. I have to stifle my tears; I have to force my tongue to stay quiet even though it wants to scream out how I feel. What a stupid way to live, in love with a woman who would never even consider giving me a hug or a quick kiss on the cheek, never mind falling in love with me.

She is a kind generous person who would help anyone in need, if only I was just infatuated with her because of her looks I could cope with that, but I am in love with the woman that she is, the person she has grown into. I know her so well, I have loved her for the last twelve years since my second year at school and in all that time I never heard her intentionally offend anyone, well anyone but him that is but that was usually in retaliation for something hurtful he had said that Malfoy git.

Now here he comes, come to collect his wife for lunch. He calls for her every day and every day they leave the building hand in hand, only to return an hour later again hand in hand while he drops her at her office door. The twisting wrenching knot in my stomach tightens and I can feel my chest expand as I struggle to hold in the pain that threatens to overcome me. I force down the lump that has once more formed in my throat and try to tear my gaze from the picture of beauty that walks past oblivious to my presence totally unaware of the pain that my love for her creates yet again.

I could fill the rest of this journal with expletives as I think of the words to call my foolish heart. Of all the women in the world why did I have to fall for a woman who could never love me or even notice I exist. Why can't my foolish heart find another one, one who would hold me, comfort me when I am hurting, laugh with me when I am happy. Why must I be in love with her, maybe if I had been a year younger, been in their year then maybe, but no I am fooling myself yet again. I know she has been in love with him since their first year, I think I knew even before they did, I saw the way she looked at him the way she cried when he was slow in returning that love. The way she worried when he was injured or in danger.

She will be leaving shortly, just on five she will walk by and say goodnight, her smile will light up her face, lighting her eyes with an inner fire, a passion reflected from deep in her soul. I will see that smile just as I do every night but it will not be for me, it will be for him.

Here she is "Goodnight Hermione," those are two of the worst words in our language, I say them every night as her husband picks her up.

I know she will turn around and reply "goodnight Michael."

I think I will hand in my resignation tonight and leave this place, move to another country, because being in love with Hermione Potter is killing me.


	18. Chapter 18 The Dream

Disclaimer, I don't own Harry Potter or any of his friends, wish I did, then I would write another sixth and seventh book in the series with a better and more sensible end, with out spoiling what started out as a romance between Harry and Hermione, even if JKR did not intend it.

The Dream

Harry rolled over onto his side once again. Ginny had turned away his sexual advances just as she normally did. It had been the same for the past twenty years. If he was lucky he would have sex with her maybe once every four months. He even remembered the night twelve years ago when she had shown her very first and last pleasurable reaction to sex. It had lasted roughly five minutes and had never been repeated. Now as he cursed once again thinking about his honeymoon and how they had finally had sex on the very last day of the month long holiday, he had known right back then he had made a huge mistake in marrying her. He was stuck in a magical marriage from which there was only one way out of, and he was beginning to think it might well be worth hoping for his last day to come early, the release he would get on the day he died would be welcome. The only reason he stayed around was to see Hermione occasionally for a chat. He had quickly after getting married known she was just as unhappy as him self. It did not take much for Harry to shift from thinking of her as a best friend to loving Hermione with all that was in him. If only they were not married to others.

As Ginny let out her gentle snores Harry lay with a tear in his eye and stared up at the dark ceiling, he wondered what kind of evil beings the fates were, and if there really was a god then he was just as bad as Voldemort. No man should have had to suffer the way he had his entire life. He was thirty-nine years old and he had never been held by a woman as she said she loved him. His wife Ginny was a true expert at covering up her lack of ability to love any one other than herself, or to show love to friends and family, even her three children were deprived of a mothers love, after all she had had many years practice at being cold hearted and covering it up when necessary.

As he lay there unable to sleep he prayed and wished with all that was in him for his life to change, to be different. He finally fell asleep praying desperately for some change in his wretched life to happen, for some thing good to come his way for a change.

Harry suddenly found himself standing in the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Recognising he was dreaming and what was about to happen he decided he would think about why he was dreaming this particular dream later, and as he seemed to be in control in this dream he determined to change the outcome to what had actually happened, it was his dream after all why not have it happen as he had always wanted it to.

For a mere moment in time it seemed a little odd that he should dream of the time when Hermione had been showing signs of jealousy toward Lavender Brown because she was with Ron, but what the heck difference does that make in a dream. All these thoughts flashed through his mind in a nano second.

Looking at the fiery haired female headed toward him with that determined look in her eye that he so well remembered, he rapidly changed direction and headed straight for Hermione. Even though when awake he had fallen for all Ginny's tricks that she had pulled just to get her hands on his money, he did not have to fall for them in his dream.

It was his dream after all, and as it was his dream he lacked no courage when he purposefully by passed Ginny and Ron, then wrapped his arms around Hermione and pulled her into a really hot passionate and steamy kiss that would put the stupid red headed deserter in the shade, and curl Hermione's toes.

As he broke for air the kiss seemed to have been so unexpectedly realistic and immensely enjoyable and some thing more, a feeling he could not quite understand, he did know that he wanted more of those same feelings. It took him but a few seconds to look into her slightly glazed eyes to decide to kiss her again with the same amount of love, fire, and passion.

He did not notice the shouting cheering and clapping from his house mates nor did he notice the evil stares from two red headed Weasleys who up till that point had everything going in the direction they wanted, what he did notice was that Hermione was kissing him back with just as much passion as he was kissing her with, and his body was reacting to her kiss in a way it never did with Ginny.

Harry was ecstatically happy from the kisses he had just shared with Hermione; the vague thought that he could spend his life in a dream like this one was suddenly washed away by the blazing angry look that had quite suddenly replaced the glazed look in Hermione's eyes. It was that look more than anything else that made him realise he was not dreaming, he had somehow actually wound up in the past and he had just thoroughly snogged his former best friend. As he began to remember the things that had happened that year and the look she was now giving him, he slowly began to feel a real sinking feeling in his stomach.

The sad and dejected feelings that that angry look instilled in him made him bow his head, he turned and rushed for the exit. Harry did not look back once as he made his way to the black lake, and the tree bough he usually spent time sitting on in those once far of days. He was more than surprised at how much he could remember of his life before in the sixth year, when he looked at his one time favourite haunt.

There was only room for one person to sit and it was where he had spent a lot of time as he was so very often alone during his sixth and eighth years at school. His head still bowed he once again began to grumble to himself about just how bad his life was and how cruel the fates were to send him back to go through it all again.

It was twenty five minutes before Hermione found him and she still wore the angry look. It penetrated right down to her very soul if one was to believe the look in her eyes. "So Harry Potter would you care to explain just why the hell you thought you could kiss me in front of the whole of Gryffindor?" she asked angrily.

Harry was feeling pissed off with love, life, and women, and Hermione's ranting was most unwelcome right then, and rather than give her a chance to get started, he decided to speak first.

He drew in a deep breath before he spoke. "Ok I'm sorry alright. I'm sorry I forgot you no longer want my friendship. I'm sorry I forgot I'm not allowed to fall in love with you. I'm sorry I forgot you fancy the red headed bastard jealous prat. Ok I'm sorry I have any feelings for you, but you won't have to worry. I'll stay away from you just like you want, does that satisfy you? If so, then you can go back to chasing after that worthless piece of shit that will never amount to anything, because he's to bloody lazy to even figure out how to think for him self."

Harry slipped from the bough on the opposite side of the tree to where she stood. He hadn't bothered to look at her after that first look into her eyes and the anger he saw there. As his feet hit the ground he started walking away. He could hear her demanding 'he come back here' but he kept on walking he needed to put some space between them while he figured out what the hell had happened and why this latest disaster had fallen on him. In what he now thought was the future, Hermione had told him she had always had strong feelings for him, or at least he had thought that was what she had meant.

Harry had slept or at least tried to sleep for two restless nights in the room of requirements; in fact he had not left the room since reaching its welcome sanctuary after leaving Hermione at the lake and declaring how he felt. He was no closer to solving his problem than he had been when he jumped from that once so welcoming tree bough, and quickly walked away from her.

Dobby brought him his food but he had no appetite to eat anything more than the odd mouthful. Dobby was getting worried for his Harry Potter sir, he was not looking well and hiding away was not good.

Harry had just about made his mind up to leave Hogwarts and the wizarding world. It had caused him nothing but pain since he was a helpless baby. He definitely didn't fancy facing Voldemort yet again. It had changed nothing the last time. Purebloods still ran everything with their money, Hogwarts still encouraged the animosity with its four separate houses, and muggle borns were still looked down on and could not find work in the wizarding world. It was time to get out, make a new start. Leave all of this behind him, he had enough money to move to anywhere in the world he fancied.

.

.

H.P.O.V

.

.

Hermione was standing watching Ron kissing Lavender again and thinking what she would like to do to them when Harry had walked into the common room. She could tell from the look in Ginny's eyes as she rushed toward him what she was going to do, but before she had the chance Harry moved.

He actually moved in Hermione's direction and dodged around Ginny, before she knew what was happening, she was having her first real kiss. It was hot and passionate and it did things to her that she had never experienced before. Before her body and mind could recover Harry was kissing her once again, and once again he was doing things to her she had never even imagined, things she wanted him to do again and again.

But then he was pulling away and her logical side kicked in and some how from her logic an illogical anger rose in her, that he had dared to kiss her like that, and in front of every one of her friends. That he had dared to take such a liberty with her had her feeling furious enough to deny the fantastic way she had felt when he kissed her.

Before she had a chance to say anything to him she was surrounded by a dozen witches all asking what it was like to be kissed so passionately by 'The Harry Potter'. It took her some time to fight her way out of the common room and then even more time to find him. She was no longer sure where he might have gone. And then she had followed her instincts and quickly found him down by the lake, before she could even begin to yell at him he said something that stopped her in her tracks.

'_I'm sorry I forgot you no longer want my friendship'_ the words echoed around in her mind as she thought about the way she had been treating her best friend. The best friend who had rescued her from a Troll, Dementors, and other assorted evils. The Best friend who had never once put his own well being or happiness above hers, or anyone else's, unlike some she could think of. The best friend she had let down so badly all year. The best friend she had treated as anything but a friend.

As her mind toiled through all this, his other words ran through her memory _'I'm sorry I forgot I'm not allowed to fall in love with you'_

"Oh god he loves me. Oh god what have I done, Harry loves me and I have been so cruel and nasty to him. What have I done?" she asked herself as she started to realise what she may well have thrown away because she was jealous of Lavender having a boyfriend while she did not.

It was after two long days of feeling empty inside, as if her very soul had left her, and after fruitlessly searching for Harry that she called for Dobby to ask him if he could take her to Harry. Dobby told her couldn't take her, and he couldn't tell her Harry Potter sir was in the come and go room, because Harry Potter sir said not to tell missy he was in the room of requirements. Dobby then scurried off to do what ever he had been doing before, or even more likely to punish him self for what he had just said.

A very dishevelled and pale looking Harry had just left the room of requirements when Hermione reached the seventh floor corridor. She called out to Harry but he simply ignored her and then increased his pace toward the portrait of the fat lady. Harry was packing his trunk when Hermione caught up with him; she had had to follow him up to his dormitory before she came face to face with him. Once she reached him she simply stood looking at him as he packed his belongings away. She didn't know what to say, or how to say she was sorry for all she had done to him. As he slammed his trunk shut she finally found her voice.

"Are you leaving?" she asked in a very quiet voice.

Harry looked straight into her eyes "Yes," was all he said.

Hermione wanted to beg him to stay, beg him to kiss her again but all she managed to say was "Why?"

Harry had just bent down to grab his trunk; he stood back up and looked at her again, "Why not? There's nothing in this shitty world for me. The woman I love turned on me treated me like dirt, the guy who was supposed to be my best mate ignored me, the idiots of this world despise me one day and praise me the next.

They are in the despise mode again because I won't tell them what I have been doing with Dumbledore, and that old fool simply wants to manipulate me as his favourite weapon. So Miss Granger you tell me what I should stay for, you think I should stay and fight Voldemort for them? You think I should give up my life for a people who spent the past year calling me all kinds of names, yet expecting me to save them without any training? Well I don't, I had one reason to stay in this world and that reason has pushed me away with hate in return for my love. I am leaving and I don't intend to come back, not for any one or any thing. No matter what happens."

Hermione looked at him and she knew that every word he spoke was true; there really was no reason for him to give his life for the hypocrites of this bigoted hate filled world. "Can I come with you? I'd like to spend some time with the man I fell in love with." Hermione heard her self say.

Harry looked down at his wrist watch, "I'm leaving in fifteen minutes," he said as he grabbed his trunk and walked to the door.

Hermione needed no more words from him, she rushed after him and after a quick check that he was waiting in the common room she raced up to her dorm and thanking Tonks for showing her how, she packed her things in a matter of seconds. When she returned to the common room Harry was speaking to Dobby and Winky.

The four of them, two humans and their two elfin friends left Hogwarts with no problems as Dobby popped away with Harry and Winky followed with Hermione. Seconds after leaving they were all standing in the Granger back garden. Hermione had mentioned how her parents had wanted her to leave Hogwarts when she was injured so badly at the end of the fifth year and to travel with them to Australia.

It did not take long for the Granger family and Harry along with their two friends to leave England and travel south to a better future, one where there was no dark lord, no death eaters and no blood predigest bigots to ruin the life they made for them selves. Two years later Harry and Hermione were married in a small muggle ceremony with just their new friends and neighbours as their guests. Every one from their former lives were left where they belonged. In the past, where they belonged.

Together they looked forward to a happy love filled future, one where they were both happy, where there children could be safe and happy too. The only part of their past they had with them were the two friends who had always been honest and faithful, Dobby and his mate Winky.


	19. Chapter 19 The 19 year nightmare

Disclaimer. As usual I don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters, things, or animals, that are mentioned in the Harry Potter books, I do how ever own the plot in this little venture into the Potter verse.

The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train carrying her daughter Rose off to Hogwarts for the first time rounded a corner, and Harry stopped following it, standing waving until it was completely out of sight. Hermione took hold of her son Hugo's hand and turned to walk away, tears were filling her eyes and she tried to blink them away. She failed to understand why Harry had ignored her as if she were not even there; as far as she could remember he hadn't said a single word to her since she married Ron.

As she took one last quick glance at Harry he simply faded away as did Ron, Hugo and all the others, her tears finally began to freely flow down her cheeks as all around her vanished to be replaced by darkness and a voice calling her name. She turned to see where the voice that was calling her was coming from but everything was black. Slowly she woke and she opened her eyes to look into the face of her smiling mother.

"Morning sweetheart, welcome back to the world of the living," Helen said as she leant over and placed a gentle kiss on Hermione's forehead.

Hermione moved a little as she tried to look around the hospital room she was in, the small movement caused a pain to flare up in her chest and slowly where she was and why became crystal clear, she was in St Mungo's. Looking up into her mothers clear eyes made the tears flow. It had all been a dream an awful yet realistic nightmare, if it had not had such huge time jumps, and huge parts of her life missing she might have believed it had really happened and was not a nightmare, so vivid was it in her memory. Scenes of their sixth year pulling away from the boy she loved and trusted since she was twelve, and chasing after Ron who was with Lavender always snogging. Harry, the one boy she truly believed in, kissing Ginny Weasley. The seventh year going on a year long search for parts of Voldemort's soul, and that awful scene on the platform where Harry never spoke a single word to her, it was all an evil horrid nightmare.

For one of the few times in her life she was grateful for the pain she felt, even if it was from Dolohov's curse. As she gently hugged her mother she thanked the stars above that her wedding day, having sex and giving birth to Ron Weasleys children had not been part of the nightmare. The mere thought of kissing Ron for any reason what so ever, in fact the very idea of fancying him at all turned her stomach over, and the thought of having Weasley's children was truly disgusting. Why the hell would she want to be with a boy she could barely stand and only put up with because he was Harry's friend? Was a question that ran through her mind as she remembered the nightmare, the only answer she could think of was that it was something to do with the evil of the curse she had been hit with.

"How long…?" she asked with a dry raspy voice.

Helen Granger quickly poured Hermione a cool glass of water, holding it so that her daughter could sip the refreshing liquid. "It's been three weeks since that awful night, you've been in a magical coma."

"Is everyone else ok, is Harry ok?" Hermione asked after taking the last of the water from the glass.

"Harry's next door getting a little sleep, poor lad needs it too. He's hardly slept since we arrived and somehow he's been feeding his magic to you everyday, first he did it without knowing what he was doing. He simply refused to accept it when the healers said you were not going to make it. I've never seen anyone so young be so in love, so devoted. You do know he loves you?" Helen said as tears of relief finally escaped and ran down her cheeks.

"Mum, Harry doesn't think of me like that, we're simply best friends," Hermione said as she wished Harry being in love with her could be true.

"No love, that boy is head over heels in love with you. When the healers found him on the floor, his magic depleted after using it to keep you alive till he was barely conscious, that's when I knew for certain he loved you. Why else would he do something that the healers kept telling him was impossible? Every time you looked like you were going to leave us he stood and fed his magic into you keeping you alive. When he wasn't doing that he's been sitting by your bed holding your hand for twenty hours a day since you were brought in here, and that's only because your dad and I have been forcing him to leave your side and get some rest for at least four hours each night." Helen said almost in a whisper as she remembered the first time she had actually pushed the boy from the room forcing him to lie in the bed next door and get some sleep.

Moments later the door opened and Harry stood in the open doorway, tears filled his eyes as his green eyes locked on to Hermione's warm brown eyes. For several moments he just stood there and stared at the young woman in the bed. Then he was suddenly rushing to her side and as she looked up at him his lips pressed onto hers in a kiss that proved Helens words to be true.

Hermione looked up into his wonderful green eyes and she could see his love for her revealed in them. "Hello Harry…" was all she managed to say before she gave in to the urge and gently pulled his head down and kissed him.

"I thought I was going to lose you… don't leave me ever again," Harry finally managed to say in a gruff voice as their lips parted.

"I won't, I'll be with you right to the end, even after we rid the world of Voldemort," Hermione said as she placed a quick kiss on the tip of his nose.

"Hermione love, he's already gone. It's all over. Fudge has been replaced, Dumbledore is in prison, he and Hagrid got life for kidnapping me and keeping me a prisoner for fourteen years. Madam Bones is the minister now, and Umbridge is up in the ward with Lockhart." Harry said as he held her hand and twined his fingers around hers.

"Voldemort gone? How? When, are you ok? Hermione asked in a rush of words.

"We lost Sirius in the veil room, Bellatrix killed him, I chased after her and when we reached the atrium Voldemort was there. I thought you were gone, I thought Dolohov had killed you, and then Sirius was gone. I was so incensed I attacked Voldemort with my bare hands. Something like a small snake, formed from some dark hazy light burst out from my scar and entered Voldemort, it must have hurt him like crazy cause he fell to his knees screaming while holding his head, anyway that blinding pain I got every time I was close to him vanished at the same time so I had time to fire a reducto at him and at such close range it simply blew a hole right through him then hit Bellatrix who was behind him, killed her as well.

Voldemort's spirit tried to escape like it did when I killed Quirrell, I wasn't going to let him get away again so I pointed my wand at it and thought 'no not this time' it was awesome, don't know what it was but a golden beam of light hit his spirit and wrapped around it then it screamed this god awful scream and blew apart.

The Unspeakables reckon that when I first destroyed Voldemort a small part of his soul entered me and somehow attached itself to my life force, it wasn't strong enough to do anything more than cause me pain when it tried to rejoin the rest of Voldemort's soul. Seems when I got my hands around his throat we got close enough together long enough for his bit of soul leave me and try to rejoin him, that was all that kept him alive the night he killed mum and dad, once I was free of it I was able to finish him off for good.

A few days later when they tried to take me away from you Kingsley and Tonks had some sort of big argument with order members about wanting me sent to the Dursleys again while you were critically ill. Anyway they started to ask some questions, it seems Dumbledore had no authority to take me and place me anywhere. He simply ignored the law and my parents will. I don't think he expected them to do anything when he admitted he had sent Hagrid to get me, simply because if my godfather was there he was big enough to intimidate him into handing me over. He was wrong, Kingsley disarmed him and Tonks made the arrest, several of the order members were also arrested for complicity in keeping me a prisoner, it appears I ran away a few times and they kept finding me and taking me back then obliviating me, and all on Dumbledore's orders." Harry told her as he looked into her eyes.

"Seems I've missed quite a bit of excitement while I've been lying here," Hermione said as Harry leaned forward to kiss her yet again.

"Hermione! when you get out of here would you like to go on a date?" Harry asked his face turning red.

"Oh most definitely Mr Potter, most definitely," she replied the 19 year nightmare fading from her mind.


	20. Chapter 21 Love at Godric Hollow

Disclaimer. As usual I don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters, things, or animals, that are mentioned in the Harry Potter books, I do how ever own the plot in this little venture into the Potter verse.

Love at Godrics hollow

Hermione looked over at the young man sleeping at the other side of the tent they shared and tears once again began to fall down her pretty face. The tears she had shed for the past few nights and the feeling of betrayal she had felt when Ron had left them receded to the back of her mind as she remembered a conversation she had overheard what seemed years ago and yet had been a little less than a year. She remembered word for word the conversation between the young man she was looking at and their mutual friend Luna.

"_So Harry you love her then?" Luna asked the dark haired boy as they stood just outside the train carriage._

"_Luna, you have no idea how much. Hermione is the most wonderful person I ever met. I love her so much I sometimes want to scream it out to the whole world but she doesn't see me that way. I've loved her a long time Luna, this time last year I was thinking of asking her to marry me as soon as we get Voldemort off our backs, but… well you know how she treated me last term." Harry Potter answered sadly._

"_Well maybe when she finally realises just what an awful person Ronald Weasley is, maybe she will see what is right under her nose." Luna told him sympathetically._

"_It'll never happen Luna, she's fancied the red headed shit since fourth year. You have no idea how disappointed in her I am, I knew she would never fall in love with me, no matter how much I wanted it, but I thought it would be because I am to dumb for someone with her intelligence Then she started to fancy the thickest guy in Gryffindor, maybe even the whole school, and he's as much a bigot as Malfoy. Her liking him like that is the reason I accepted that pathetic apology from him, she's the only reason I stay friends with him. If I can just have her friendship and company then I can get by. I just wish sometimes she could see him like everyone else does. I wonder why she can't see him the way he is, I mean the bastard nearly got her killed in our first year and he has never really changed how he treats her… he still hates all she likes to do…" Harry said unable to finish his rant due to the final whistle for boarding._

"_Yes well we best get aboard, see where they are eh?" Luna said with a sad smile._

"_Yeah, we should. At least I'll be near to her again," Harry said brushing some snow away before lifting her trunk aboard then turning to lift his own trunk._

That conversation had troubled Hermione quite a lot and she had spent the rest of the sixth year trying to distance her self from him and put an end to the love her best friend had for her. As she looked over at Harry she could almost feel the hurt she had caused him through that year. She had hurt him so much that when Ron left and she had needed someone to comfort her, when she had needed Harry's shoulder to cry on once again, he was no longer there for her.

He had completely ignored her crying and tears. She could not blame him, because after all that pain she had caused him at Hogwarts, and she knew that during their time together in this tent Harry had heard some of the whispering she and Ron had been doing behind his back, hurting him yet again, so he had good reason to ignore her. She looked again at his sleeping form and felt as bad as she had ever felt when she realised how she had abused his friendship and his forgiving nature and how she had rewarded him for falling in love with her. She promised the sleeping young man she would not treat him that way again, she would be the true friend she had been before she heard him declare his love for her.

Some months later after throwing herself at and kissing Ron right in front of Harry and seeing the pain and despair that had so suddenly filled Harry's eyes she remembered that night in the tent and how she had felt, she remembered the promise she had made. As that memory faded she saw the look of hurt and pain in Harry's eyes change to one of defeat and acceptance and she prayed he would not give in to the wishes of that evil devil incarnate Voldemort.

A little later when no one could find Harry in the castle Hermione knew where he had gone and why. She wasn't being vain when she thought that after everything she had made him suffer, Harry was still in love with her. He had gone out to give himself up, he had gone to end his pain and that thought was hurting her, it tore at something in her heart.

Telling Ron where she thought Harry had gone and what he intended to do, she finally saw what it was about Ron that she had not seen when everyone else saw it. His reply of "Oh well, with him dead maybe Voldemort will leave us alone and we will all be ok now and get on with our lives." it turned her stomach to think she could have fancied someone like that.

Just a couple of hours later after Harry had once again survived being hit with the killing curse, he had been as though dead but had somehow recovered enough to end the life of Voldemort. As soon as Voldemort had been confirmed dead Harry walked out of the great hall, he ignored both her and Ron when they called to him. He walked right past Ginny Weasley his last girlfriend without so much as giving her even a glance. Everyone heard the small sound as he apparated from the main entrance steps and Hermione's heart sank as she tried to follow him and saw him vanish with a light pop sound.

Harry apparated straight into the garden of his parents damaged home. As he passed through the gate he ripped the sign welcoming visitors there from the gate and flung it away behind him. He replaced it with a huge conjured sign with '**Private Property keep out**' written on it. A conjured wooden stake placed right near the gate made sure the sign could be seen by anyone who tried to enter.

Inside the spell damaged house Harry in an exhausted daze climbed the stairs and walked into his parents old room, where he lay down and curled up in a dry corner and collapsed into the sleep of the physically, magically, and emotionally exhausted.

That was where Hermione found him three days later. He was freezing cold and unconscious and still magically exhausted. His little remaining magic was the only thing keeping him alive when she arrived, it was as though he had given up and she had no idea what to do. Down stairs in the less damaged part of the house the partially damaged kitchen Hermione began to carry out some temporary repairs. Having repaired the windows and door, rebuilt the fire place and repaired the wall she conjured a small bed and with a roaring fire warming the room she went back upstairs and levitated Harry down into the kitchen. Once she had placed him in the bed she climbed in beside him and wrapped her arms around him to warm him with her body heat before she fell asleep knowing she would never let him down again. Tired from all the magic she had used that afternoon she was soon dreaming of a life with her best friend and their green eyed messy haired children.

Hermione awoke several hours later covered in sweat the heat in the bed while still fully dressed was just too much. As she rolled out of the bed and looked down at the still unconscious form of her best friend she remembered the dreams she had been having while sleeping next to him. There had been no nightmares as usual; instead she had had pleasant happy dreams of a future shared with a green eyed black haired husband.

After having a long cool drink of water she could not get the feeling that she needed to be with Harry for him to survive, out of her mind. Not knowing why she was doing it but feeling it was somehow vitally important, she removed all her clothing and with a quick flick of her wand she removed Harry's clothes as well, she then climbed in to the bed beside him and cuddled up as close to him as she could. Within seconds she could feel her magic as it seemed to spread out from her naked body and envelope the man she was holding, she then felt as her own magic helped to heal and fill Harry's damaged core.

They stayed together in bed for the next twelve hours as their magic went to work. Hermione was surprised to wake up some hours later to the smell of cooking, she knew it was not Harry because he was still lying wrapped in her arms, as she moved to see who was cooking she realised Harry was no longer unconscious and was instead sleeping by the calm steady rise and fall of his chest, she was however surprised by a huge piece of rigid flesh that seemed to spring up as she moved her leg off it. How she had managed to wrap her leg around him in such a way she did not know but she did know he had one heck of a huge arousal.

Having carefully climbed from the bed without waking the man still lying there she tried to cover her hardened nipples with the blanket she had managed to wrap around her. Over by what was obviously a recently restored cooker stood a little elf happily cooking some eggs and bacon. "Winky is that you?" Hermione asked quietly so as not to wake Harry.

The little elf who was indeed Winky turned to Hermione before bustling over to the young woman. "Mistress Potter should not be leaving her mate yet, magic not be finished work, Winky will fetch Mistress Potter breakfast she will, then Winky will mend some more home." The little female elf said as she pushed at Hermione's legs forcing her to sit back on the bed.

"Winky how did you find us, I did not think anyone would find us? Why are you here? Where did you get the food?" Hermione asked, her questions falling like a waterfall from her mouth.

"Winky do be doing for her life mate Dobby, now Dobby be ended, Winky do be elf for the great Harry Potter and his missus. You did be good to my Dobby, and Winky do need to work to make some pain go away. Winky must work hard for little Dobby." The little elf said as she placed a tray of food on Hermione's lap.

"Dobby was your husband, your life mate?" Hermione asked then noticed that Harry was starting to get restless. "Are you having a baby?"

Winky looked at Harry for a few moments before looking up at Hermione "You's must be taking away the blanket, you's must be touching you's mate Master Harry," Winky said as she clicked her fingers.

Hermione found her self once again completely naked the blanket neatly folded at the bottom of the bed, she had also been moved back a little so that her bare behind was pushed up against Harry which she noticed stopped his restless movements instantly. "Winky you know Harry is not my life mate, we are not married."

Winky walked back to the cooker mumbling just loud enough for Hermione to hear "Mistress Potter do be crazy, she not knowing her heart, magic and soul do be bonded to master Harry."

"Winky how do you know we are bonded? When were we bonded?" Hermione asked a feeling of exhilaration over riding the thought of 'oh heck what will Harry say' "When you say bonded you mean like in husband and wife bonded, like a marriage bond?" she asked as the small female filled another plate.

Winky looked at Hermione with a sad look "Dobby did tell Winky mistress was fighting bond for whole year but he did say you be losing fight. Your bond fetched master back when he did end. Master can not end when you still be living, you's is Master Harry's bond mate for always and ever. Bond will be of great strength when you's is mating with Master Harry." Winky said with a serious look telling Hermione that the little elf thought she was talking to an idiot.

"Winky be leaving Master's food here, master will wake soon and when you is finish mating with master to mend master's magic, Master will be hungry." Winky said as she popped out of the room.

As she ate her breakfast Hermione could hear the house being repaired as Winky worked on the rest of the house. As she reached to place her plate on the table she felt Harry wrap himself around her as best he could while she was still sitting up. She could feel his still erect member as it pressed tightly into her hip. That feeling lit a desire deep inside her and then suddenly she could feel it, the bond between them. She could feel the connection between her magic and Harry's, it became more distinct the more bodily contact they had. When he shuffled around and placed his head in her lap the feeling became intense and a type of happiness she had never felt before flooded over her senses.

It was an hour and fifteen minutes before Harry woke up and a look of shock covered his features, he was absolutely certain he had been alone when he went to sleep and he could think of no reason why he should be lying holding on to a warm and so very obviously nude female body. He was even more shocked that his morning problem was pressed firmly between the cheeks of the females buttocks. Finally getting up the nerve to find out a little more of what was happening, Harry opened his eyes to see the mass of dark brown hair that was unmistakably Hermione's wild free locks.

'If this is Hermione's hair then I have my hand full of her boob, which seems to fit perfectly into my hand. I have my john Thomas wedged between her butt cheeks and I feel like I must have died and gone on to heaven. He could not help the happy contented sigh he let leave his mouth, alerting Hermione that he had woken up at last. He found out where his other hand was as she turned in his arms to face him and his hand ended up cupping her between her legs. He was really surprised when he felt how hot and damp she was, as if she was ready for sex.

"Hello husband, how are you feeling. Oooh Harry don't wriggle your fingers so much, it makes it hard to concentrate," she said as she looked into his eyes moments before she pressed herself against him trapping his hand between them. She was not conscious of the small movement of her hips that caused her sex to rub gently against his hand while she kissed him.

"Hermione, why are we in bed together naked? Why did you just call me husband? And can I have my hand back please, you're killing me here," Harry asked his face bright red from the blush that must have near reached his toes, or so he guessed.

Hermione who had never dreamed she could be so forward pulled back a little and together they sat up in the bed, she made sure to keep her arm around him stopping him from running. "Well I found you almost three days ago, your magic core so depleted you were almost dead, you were cold and your clothes were all damp. I put you to bed and decided to climb in to give you some of my body heat, anyway I fell asleep and only woke up twelve hours later. She then went on to tell him all that had happened, and what Winky had said. Just a few minutes later Harry sat quietly eating while he thought over all she had said.

"So let me get this bit straight, once you actually felt the bond, it made you feel randy and all that, yeah?" Harry asked as he drank his hot tea.

"Yes that's about right, it's an amazing feeling Harry truly it is." Hermione said her hold on him tightening just a little for a second. She then called Winky to tell Harry what she had told her.

After Winky had done the best she could do to explain their bond to him he very nervously admitted he had never even seen a naked woman before and touching one was only something he did in his dreams, he added that it had always been Hermione in his dreams. He also admitted to being extremely nervous about it all because he was not exactly sure what he had to do, if they did decide to have sex or as Winky put it 'mate'.

Hermione felt she could hear a little hint in his voice that suggested she was more experienced than he was and demanded to know why he would feel that way. His answer "Well you spent quite a few nights whispering to Ron while he was over by your bunk, sounded to me like there was something going on though I never dared look or I might have ended up killing him, probably you too. Then there was that friggin kiss, that did not look like a first kiss, it seemed more like something that the two of you were used to doing."

She could hear the hurt in his voice and knew from the same hurt that he thought that she had had sex with Ron and more than once. She was about to yell at him but realised he really did have good reason to feel that way, the way they had spent hours whispering behind his back or when they thought he was asleep. Then there was that damn kiss when Ron had made a feast of it. She admitted to her self they did actually look guilty of having had sex.

"Harry I am willing to swear on my life that I have never had sex with anyone if you want me too. I shall probably regret my actions through sixth year and with Ron during the search for the rest of my life, but the truth is I love you. I needed to find you to be with you because I was lost and empty without you." She said reaching for her wand.

Harry stopped her and gave her a gentle kiss "I'm sorry I said anything, I shouldn't hurt you like that, I'm just scared is all. I'm scared you will realise I'm not worth it and leave."

"Harry I'm your wife, and I am not going anywhere without you." She informed him in her bossy voice.

"Yes dear," he answered which made them both burst out laughing and breaking the tension that had been building.

Three hours later they were 'mating' for the fifth time and both of them could never be any happier. Eventually as the day wore on they left the bed to find that Winky had carried out almost all the repairs on the house. They were also both able to feel the completeness of the bond they shared, and would share for more than a hundred years together as they raised their family and enjoyed their grand and great grand children.

...

...


	21. Chapter 22 Like two Phoenix

Disclaimer. As usual I don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters, things, or animals, that are mentioned in the Harry Potter books, if I did you would never have seen Ron Weasley after the fourth book.

Phoenix

Harry knew as he walked into the hospital ward that one way or another this would be the last visit of Harry James Potter to St Mungo's magical hospital. In his youth he had been admitted several times for various injuries, he marvelled at the fact that nothing seemed to have changed in the 140 years since he was nineteen and had last been a patient in this same ward.

Thankfully over those last 140 years he had had no need of the healing hands of the staff of this ancient hospital. As he arrived at the doors to the side ward where his life long best friend and the only woman he had ever truly loved lay close to the end of this life, he had to pause to wipe away the few tears over those that had betrayed him so long ago, some tears managed to escape from under his eye lids and run down his cheeks to moisten his pure white beard.

A quick check in his inside pocket verified for him he still had the two precious vials he had so carefully placed there on leaving his home. To Harry they were two of the three most precious items in the entire world, they were the key to his and Hermione's remaining future be it life or death.

The vials contained the only two doses of a potion he and Hermione had spent almost every waking minute of the past twenty years developing. He was not absolutely certain they would get the desired results when they drank the potion but comparing his notes with Hermione's older notes all his calculations seemed to point to the potion being ready. Now ready or not they were out of time, Hermione's body was finally succumbing to the treatment she had received from her husband, the husband that had passed away twenty five years earlier.

Harry had for several months now wished they could have found enough of the extremely rare ingredients to make an extra dose or two of the so very precious potion so that he could run some tests of some sort, but the potion called for a blood sample from a specific period in their lives, the only blood samples he could find from the correct time were the two drops of dried blood they had used on their banking contracts with Gringotts. Harry had tried to be meticulously careful when he removed their two tiny blood samples from the old parchments.

Harry James Potter the most famous and most powerful wizard alive had not informed the medical staff that he was there to collect Hermione Jane Weasley and that she would be leaving with him, they both knew she had just a few hours left to live and they did not wish to waste any of that time with any person who might have objection to Harry removing her from the hospital.

Entering her private room unseen Harry cast several security charms that were devised by Hermione and would ensure they had complete privacy. Hermione struggled as she tried to sit up to see what he was doing, but she was in no condition to manage on her own.

Harry sat down beside her on the bed and pulled out the two vials, holding them up he smiled at her his gentle green eyes filled with a deep love. "I finished the potion love. I didn't have enough to test it so I think I should lie beside you when we take it then if it fails we will at least go on to the next great adventure together."

Hermione smiled and with a small nod of her head she agreed with him. "Which ever way it goes Harry I want to be with you, I have loved you so long without being able to show you, that I will be happy what ever happens as long as we are together."

As he smiled down at the woman he loved he thought back to why they were about to do what they had planned. Over the years it seemed that no matter how hard they worked to change the British Wizarding world things remained more or less the same as they had been for centuries. The British Wizarding population were simply too stuck in their ways, too reliant on others to think for themselves, to steeped in the pureblood philosophy. Harry thought that it was highly possible that the entire population was stupid, they drove out Muggle born's by making any progress in their world impossible for them. Most Muggle born left the British Wizarding world within two or three years of leaving school and either worked in the Muggle world or travelled over seas where they were welcomed. Harry and Hermione had decided it was at last time for them to try some thing rather extreme.

Old as he was Harry still had the strength to lift Hermione into his arms, cradling her gently he kissed her fleetingly on the forehead before he tapped the small portkey he wore and they both vanished from the hospital room, reappearing in the bedroom of the house he had recently bought. Harry being gentle kissed her once again then laid Hermione on the large bed that was waiting for them. Having removed all his and her clothes he lay down next to her and pulled a sterilised white sheet over them.

Together the two old friends opened the small vials and after a quick tender kiss drank the contents in one gulp. Holding hands they both then lay back and fell into a deep, deep sleep. An hour later Harry James Potter and Hermione Jane Weasley vanished from the magical world without trace. Thanks to Hermione's timing charms that activated when they drank the potion not a single living person who knew them could remember if the two best friends were still alive or whether they had died.

Two full days and eleven hours had passed since they had taken the potion and Harry was beginning to wake up. The first thing he noticed was the weight pressing gently on his chest. Praying he was not dreaming or even worse 'dead', he slowly opened his eyes, what he saw was a head of beautiful wavy brown hair. As his feelings returned slowly to his body he felt the soft warm skin of the woman lying next to him and he knew that the potion had worked.

Harry James Potter and Hermione Jane Weasley no longer existed. In their place lay Harry James Granger and Hermione Jane Granger. Harry was amazed at how strong and fit he felt and he was pleasantly surprised that he once again had the body of a sixteen or seventeen year old. Looking at Hermione he was overjoyed to see the bright sparkling eyes of the woman he loved looking up at him with not a wrinkle to be seen on her beautiful face.

"It worked love; the magic infused potion worked and has made us both young again. We should get up and eat, turning back the aging process in our bodies so much will have used a lot of our core magic, it will require time and energy for it to rebuild." he told her quietly.

Hermione lay feeling the amazing comfort of finally being held in the naked embrace of the man she had loved for a little more than 140 years. "Eat later sweetheart," she replied not wanting to end the wonderful feelings that were rippling through her renewed body, for a while yet.

It was two hours later when they finally began to get up from their comfortable bed. "Harry! Harry your scar is gone, all your scars are gone," she almost shouted. "My scar is gone too, and the one on my arm. I never expected that."

Harry looked at the smooth flesh between her breasts and was amazed to see that the scar she had had since she was sixteen years old was completely gone. It had not been healed or hidden it was gone as though it had never been there. It was while Harry examined her chest that Hermione realised that he was at least eight inches taller than he had been, he had also lost that half starved look he had always had since the day she met him as an eleven year old.

They climbed out of bed after two hours of kissing and holding each other, both were feeling really hungry. They took their time eating their dinner and talking about the potion and trying to work out where their theory differed from their results. Though they had expected, or at least hoped that the potion would reverse the age of their bodies some so that they could live an extra five or ten years as husband and wife, neither had expected their bodies to become so young. They were both puzzled as to why their age had reduced so significantly and they were completely baffled about how all their scars, even tiny ones done as toddlers were completely gone.

After Harry had taken a shower Hermione had taken her shower, she left the bathroom with a truly puzzled look on her face. As soon as Harry noticed the look he asked what was wrong.

"Well Harry, either that potion created a miracle or somewhere we made a huge yet brilliant mistake in the making of it, my period just started, and that has to be impossible. I can't possibly be having a period not after all I suffered and then that last time that monster Ronald dead beat Weasley beat, me I was so bad I had to have a hysterectomy. I just simply can not be having a period no matter what it looks like. Either this is some sort of miracle or… well I don't know what to think." Hermione answered.

Two days later Hermione was still suffering the symptoms of a period so they decided to visit the healers in the local magical hospital in Kilkenny. It did not take them long to travel from Tomakeany the place they now lived to the hospital of St Patrick's and within minutes of arriving Hermione was being seen to by a healer.

The healers report was that for a sixteen year old Hermione was 100 percent fit and healthy, and extremely fertile. According to the healer she had never seen anyone who was so completely healthy with absolutely no sign of any past trauma or illness of any kind at all, except maybe new born babies. Astonished by what they were told Hermione had Harry undergo the same tests. Gone were all the signs of internal and external damage to his body, things like previous broken bones, basilisk venom and long term malnutrition from his preteen years that were normally found when he was examined. According to the healer sixteen year old Harry Granger was like Hermione 100 percent fit and healthy.

Arriving home the only theory that they could come up with was that with the magic enhanced potion being several hours old and not freshly made when they drank it, it had strengthened and somehow totally dismantled their bodies into their original basic DNA components and rebuilt them from scratch as if they had just left their mothers womb. Harry wondered if it could have been something to do with the blood samples he had used and the fact that he had used a phoenix feather quill to scrape the blood from the parchment. Hermione agreed with him and said that the blood might have been contaminated by the phoenix feather causing the phoenix tears in the potion to have the same effect as death had on a phoenix; it seemed that they had died and been reborn aged sixteen, the same age as when they had placed the blood sample to their bank account parchments.

The two of them, Hermione 160 years old and Harry 159 years old now knew for sure that they were blessed with completely new bodies of sixteen year olds, and if they were really lucky maybe after they had bonded like they should have done all those years ago they could then have the family they should have had so long ago had they not been so naïve and so easily manipulated by Albus Dumbledore and Molly Weasley's potions.

Neither of them had any family left, on coming of age Harry's three former children had all been unable to enter the Potter bank vaults or withdraw money from the accounts that were set up for them in their Potter names. On being tested with the heritage ritual none of them proved to be Potters. Harry's wife Ginny had been found to have been unfaithful on numerous occasions when she was questioned under the truth serum to find out who was the father/fathers of her children because all three had no Potter blood. Their annulment came through on their twenty fifth wedding anniversary and Harry had never seen her or the children again after that day.

Hermione's only two children had died from wizard flue during their first summer holiday together while at Hogwarts, because Ron being to lazy to work meant they did not have the money for the potions and treatment required to cure them. Ron had refused to divorce Hermione when she asked and he blamed her for their troubles. He had become a fat drunk and was abusive to her; she had left him after the third beating she had gotten from him but she was dragged back to the family home by his family and because of the archaic marriage laws she was magically forced to live there. It seemed in some strange Ron Weasley way he blamed her and Harry for his children's deaths and he regularly beat and raped Hermione if she refused his advances. It was because of the beatings she never had anymore children.

Harry and Hermione had to wait for 80 years after admitting their love for each other for Ron to die before they could finally be together. Patiently they waited to be free though they always knew they were still in love the way they were when they were teenagers. There was never anything sexual between them beyond holding hands in all that time. Other than ending the entire Weasley family line there was nothing Harry could do to free Hermione from Ron.

Then just a week after Ron's death Harry and Hermione moved into and lived in the same house together, being old, war heroes and moral icons of their world they spent their days together but at night they slept in different rooms. Almost every waking minute they worked on reverse aging potions, both of them placing their faith on finding the potion that would eventually allow them to fully enjoy their lives together for a few years.

Before he simply vanished without trace from the Wizarding world Harry James Potter had made a will and arranged with Gringotts that on receipt of a specific letter they were to hand the entire Potter and Black fortunes, properties, and belongings over to Harry James Granger. Who he declared was a distant cousin and lived in a small village near Kilkenny in Ireland. Every item from the Potter vaults was moved from the London branch of Gringotts bank to Gringotts Dublin branch. The Potter accounts were handed over to a temporary vault keeper at the Dublin branch until the day when Harry Granger called in to claim his inheritance.

Harry and Hermione had kept their forenames because they were now extremely popular names all around the Wizarding world, and had been since the fall of Voldemort. There was no need for them to change them, no need to remember new names. Together they entered the Dublin branch of Gringotts and after a heritage test proved that Harry James Granger had Potter blood, he claimed the Potter estates. Then having the Goblin vault keeper perform the goblin bonding ritual for them they were magically married with no fuss or bother. Harry Promised Hermione a proper Muggle wedding with all the trimmings when they went to visit the Potter Italian estate later in the next month or two.

Hermione's period had lasted five days. Five days during which she was physically reminded of all the cramps, pain and discomfort that accompanied those few days of the month. Though she had been a little testy and once or twice down right nasty, Harry had been great. He had taken care of her, holding her lovingly each night while holding a comforting hot water bottle on her stomach, sometimes during the days he gently rubbed her back and stroked her hair while they cuddled on the couch, again he would hold a hot water bottle for her. By the time her 'new first' period had run its course she had fallen in love with him all over again and if anything her love was even deeper and greater than before. Now that the discomfort of the period was gone Hermione was able to put her talent for potions to use and spent several days brewing necessary female potions along with a supply of healing potions.

The week following her period the now married young couple discovered that Hermione once again had the body of a virgin, the pain of their very first time making love together was caused by the breaking of her hymen. In a way that pain had somehow enabled them both to put all the horrors of their past lives completely behind them, knowing they were now two completely new entities with a new future before them, and they looked forward to their new life as man and wife together.

For the next two months Harry and Hermione threw themselves into physically building up their bodies. Each morning they went for a run before breakfast and after breakfast they went jogging, taking several trips around their local area. As the two months drew to a close they took a holiday in the Potter villa where Hermione began to plan her Muggle wedding. They would hold their wedding a week after returning home to Ireland, their guests would be the villagers they had befriended since arriving in their new lives. The wedding itself was a huge success; the local grocer performed the part of the father and walked Hermione down the isle. One of Harry's new friends was the best man and a few guys and girls from the local pub filled all the other places for them and the celebration by the entire village went on well into the early hours of the morning.

After their wedding they left their Irish home for a month's honeymoon in their Italian villa having enjoyed their previous week spent there and after a single visit to the local town they were not seen again until the end of the month. Harry smiled as he opened the curtains on the last day of their honeymoon, they had spent the entire month either having sex or eating. Hermione said it was because they were trying to catch up with all they had missed for so many years; Harry disagreed and believed it was simply because as a sixteen year old he was a right randy hormone filled sex machine, which had Hermione laughing every time she looked into his eyes for the next couple of hours. Harry's pouting and his puppy dog looks finally won the day and Hermione admitted she felt like a randy hormone driven teen her self.

Returning to their Irish home they hired a Muggle martial arts expert and got down to some serious training. They once again planned to change the magical world only this time they would not even attempt to try to do it politically the way they had tried previously and yet they had failed. This time they were not going to spend years trying to get laws repealed or changed, this time they were going to use the force required against anyone who tried to cling to the old and outdated ways, they did not intend to fail again. Neither cared if they were thought of as dark, if that was what it would take to make the magical world of Britain a place where all sentient beings were equal then they would be the new dark lord and his dark lady.

A year spent training in all sorts of muggle warfare and fighting saw the two become fierce and capable warriors. They spent another year training until they were both proficient in most all muggle weapons and explosives, as well as muggle concealment methods. It had been a very hard yet exciting year for them learning all the methods they would use to reach their goal, and they were now ready to begin their campaign to change the Wizarding world that had allowed Hermione to become the property of Ronald Bilius Weasley and the punch bag for all his insecurities and frustrations.

It was a world where the people in power simply did not want to change and they did all they could to cling to their old ways. They knew for a fact that the world of magic that was a cross between the Victorian era and the dark ages would fight against any changes, especially if the laws that made it a totally male dominated world were threatened. But Harry and Hermione were ready for that fight, and there would be no mercy for those who resisted the modernisation of the British magical world...

Two days before they left Ireland once again heading for Italy, Hermione discovered she was pregnant; she was actually going to have a baby, well over a hundred years after her last one. She had listened when the healer had told her that she was very fertile but she had not been able to bring herself to hope that it could possibly be true. She was far happier when she told Harry they were having a baby than she had ever been all those years ago when she had told Ron the same thing but with a sinking feeling in her heart. In fact she was so much happier telling Harry that it was like finding a whole new universe made of books she had never read compared with finding a small portion of a torn page from a book she knew from front to back.

On November, 21, 2140 while taking another short holiday in their Italian mansion Hermione went into labour and Harry took his heavily pregnant wife into the Italian Ministry hospital in Rome. Six hours later Helen Jane Granger was born and given the name of her grandmother. Harry fell in love with his daughter the moment the healer placed her in his arms. Even as a new born she had two very identifiable things that she had from her parents. Her hair was jet black like Harry's and bushy like Hermione's had been. It was four months later when her blue eyes gradually changed colour and became as green as Harry's.

Over in England there was a deep fear in the hearts of the government and the pureblood elite. Over the past twelve months there had been at least two unexplained pureblood deaths each month. What ever was spreading through the pureblood society and killing some of their most prominent members had their healers baffled. They could never find any magical cause for the death, nor could they find any other method known to them. Purebloods members of the Wizengamot were simply dropping dead, even some of their young and healthy government members were affected.

Harry celebrated their return home by sending a letter to the British ministry demanding that the Wizengamot disband and a new body of elected persons, to include Muggle born and all other sentient magical races be placed as the magical government. If the demands were not met then more and more of the pureblood families would be meeting their end. The letter was of course ignored until Harry carried out a raid on the actual building where the Wizengamot met, totally destroying it and seven purebloods in a huge explosion.

Instead of conceding to the demands made by this unknown person or persons the minister set his entire Auror force, who no longer took muggle born's, to the task of finding out who was killing their people and trying to end their way of life. It was a rather stupid thing to do thought the young woman with wavy brown hair as she left the ministry building pushing the stroller with her daughter in it. Outside the building she pressed a small red button on a radio control box, and then made her way home.

Inside the Auror department a small package containing a small electric motor and a stainless steel canister began to hiss as the gas in the canister was released. Four hours later and the magical government of Britain began to realise that their strangle hold on their world was indeed coming to an end. Sixteen of the Aurors had died of unknown causes while working at their desks that very morning. The pureblood elite were beginning to panic, who ever or what ever was demanding a fair and equal society had proved that no one was safe or out of their reach.

Harry and Hermione Granger were enjoying their lives in the small Irish village and even though when they had made their plans they had intended to move to England within a year of starting their campaign they decided they were far happier where they were and would be staying in Ireland. There was nothing they would ever want for, the Potter and Black fortunes were enough to keep even their future great grandchildren in comfort. None of the villagers would have ever guessed what the happy friendly young couple did on their days away. True they had bought a nice house with a rather large plot of land around it but there were no airs and graces about the young Granger couple and the villagers had soon accepted them into the community.

Hermione was even a member of the local entertainments committee and spent at least one evening a week with the young mothers club. On the surface the Granger family were the perfect young family. Harry often had a small chuckle to himself when he wondered what his local drinking companions down at the pub would think if they discovered that he and his wife were systematically destroying an archaic and evil form of government that controlled a complete magical society hidden through out the British Isles.

It took fifteen months for the ministry and the Wizengamot to finally come to its knees and they announced that they would all be resigning at the end of the month of August. Elections for a new government were to be held on the tenth and any member of the Wizarding world was eligible to become a candidate. It was as usual for the inept ministry rather ill thought out and rushed, but on the tenth there was over a hundred Muggle born and half blood candidates. At the end of the election there had not been a single pureblood who had been elected. For the first time in hundreds of years the government of the British Wizarding world was made up of fairly intelligent people. It took just six months for the ministry to begin to work as a ministry should work.

Harry and Hermione happy with what was happening decided to sit back and enjoy their new life in their new country bringing up their family. It surprised them that it had been far easier to achieve their goals than they had dared to hope. Britain now had a decent ministry and all the stupid biased laws and bigotry should soon be sorted, while Grangers could live peacefully and raise their family.


	22. Chapter 23 Umbridge, short drabble

Umbridge

A short drabble.

Harry James Potter looked at the ugly woman who looked like a fancy dressed toad dressed all in pink. He was in a foul mood, like anyone who had told the truth but had been accused of lying, he was angry at his accuser. She gave him a sickly smile while telling him to take a seat at the desk in front of him. "You will be writing out lines, 'I will not tell lies'. You will write until I say you can stop"

Harry opened his book bag and pulled out a quill and a bottle of ink, only to be told to put them away, he was to use the quill provided. "Er professor there is no ink here," he declared as he looked at the black quill.

"Oh don't worry about ink, Mr Potter," she replied with an evil smirk.

Harry shrugged, if the nutter wanted him to write with no ink so be it. Placing the quill on the parchment he began to write 'I will…' the words appeared in red on the parchment while deep cuts in the back of his hand saying 'I will' appeared. Harry put the quill down and glared at the woman while pulling his wand from his pocket.

"I'll not be using this bloody quill," he said in a scarily cold voice.

Professor Umbridge picked up her wand and gave an evil grin as she pointed it at him "Pick up the quill and write Potter," she hissed.

Just two seconds later Madam Umbridge found her self in a full body bind while facing the wizard who had faced and beaten the world's most evil wizard five times.

"Are you fucking mental?" Harry asked in a quiet yet frightening tone. "Does your simple little brain find it beyond understanding that there is a bloody good reason why people call me the boy who lived. Do you honestly think that a feeble bitch like you can get away with torturing the wizard who at one year old vanquished Voldemort? You stupid pathetic cow."

Harry flicked his wand at Umbridge and grinned as her wand left her paralyzed hand and flew into his left hand. Another flick of his wand and the short fat evil toad woman floated up into the air. Harry with the quill in his pocket and Umbridge in tow made his way to the headmaster's office.

Dumbledore's face was a picture of shock when Harry dropped the fat ministry worker on the floor in front of the desk. "Headmaster I refuse to be taught by this vindictive evil lunatic, I want to see that fool Fudge, and I would appreciate it if you as the head of the government got him to bring his fat ugly butt here immediately." Harry said as he showed the old man the still bleeding cuts on the back of his hand.

Dumbledore's face broke out into a huge smile "I think it might be a good idea to have a rather well known member of the press here as well, don't you Harry?"

Harry had an almost feral smile when he thought of the damage that Rita Skeeter could do to the stupid administration that was running a smear campaign against himself and the old man. "You know sir I find that an excellent idea, especially if a certain brain damaged politician did not realise she was here."

It was a very happy Rita Skeeter who listened to minister Fudge as he refused to punish or dismiss Umbridge for using an illegal torture device on the chosen one, even after he had been shown the ample evidence. She knew that by the same time the following day Fudge would no longer be the minister and the evil bitch Umbridge would be residing in a cell awaiting her trial. As soon as Fudge and his lackey had left the office, Rita took the floo directly to her editors office, her story needed no refining or editing, she would have it printed exactly as it was. A complete record of the meeting she had just listened into thanks to Harry Potter.

Fudge going up against Harry Potter was a mistake, to use an idiot like Umbridge was an unmitigated disaster. Within sixteen hours of his meeting the boy in Dumbledore's office he found him self out of office, out of work and most definitely out of favour on his way to Azkaban.

Umbridge being the idiot she was declared she was authorised to do anything she wanted to Hogwarts pupils right up to when the door to her cell in Azkaban prison slammed shut.

The remainder of the year was a fairly quiet one for the now happier pupils of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, and once again Harry James Potter was their hero.

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	23. Chapter 25 Premonition or nightmare

Disclaimer all characters, settings, etc, are the copyright of JK Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishing

Discoveries before the battle.

Ron like a first year once again

As Ron and Hermione came around the corner their arms full of fangs and a broom, Harry took a step backward. In the few seconds it took for them to reach him knowledge that the nightmare he had had the night before was not a nightmare but some sort of premonition or something. Harry wasn't sure what to call it but what he was now sure of was the nightmare/premonition was real and this is exactly how it had all started. Hermione saying they had been into the chamber of secrets and got the basilisk fangs. Ron saying something about the elves that was enough to get Hermione to kiss him rather passionately, how Hermione had ended up married to Ron and never finding out about what Weasley had done to her. How he himself had ended up married to the biggest boy who lived fan of them all ruining his life. How he himself had realised he was in love with his best friend Hermione.

When they reached him he had formed a rough plan of what he would do to change things. Before they could speak he began, "Good you're here, Ron I need you to go down to the kitchens, warn the elves about the upcoming battle, tell them to make sure they are safe. Hermione I need your intelligence right now, I have something to sort out and it can not wait. Ron why are you still here, you've done nothing but complain all year I don't seem to be doing anything, well I am now, go, warn the elves and get back as soon as you can." He commanded with some magical persuasion power in his voice the way Dumbledore used to do.

Without a word Ron dropped the broom he was holding and rushed off toward the kitchens. Harry watched him go for a few seconds before he took Hermione's arm and holding it gently he led her into an empty room. "Where were you for the past few minutes, I don't need the details yet, just where you were." He asked a hint of jealousy in his voice that she instantly picked up on.

Wondering why Harry was asking such a question and sounding jealous she told him simply "Well Ron remembered the sound to open the chamber so we went into the chamber of secrets to get the basilisk fangs."

Harry seemed to study her for a time before he said anything "Hermione that is not possible, there is no way Ron could speak parseltongue, I need to cast a revealing spell on you Hermione, is that ok?" Harry asked quietly.

"What why? Oh I don't suppose it matters it wont show anything, Ok, go ahead," she answered wondering what had happened to her best friend and why he wanted to cast the spell on her.

Harry pointed his wand at Hermione's head "Specialis Revealo maledictio venenum," he called out with some force. Moments later a long list of spells that had been cast on, and potions that had been given to Hermione over the past seven years appeared in front of her. Harry's fears were realised as he looked at the top of the list that was just as it had been in the dream, and he read the last few spells that had been cast on her with anger boiling up in him.

1. Obliviate. Cast by Molly Weasley.

2. Enervate. Cast by Molly Weasley

3. Contraceptus. Cast by Ronald Weasley.

4. Somnus. Cast by Ronald Weasley.

Hermione stared at the list in cursive silver writing with a growing look of fear and horror on her face. She didn't want to believe what those spells indicated, that Ron would do what they suggested was unbelievable. "Harry I… I need to check something…" she stuttered while looking down at her stomach with fear flowing through her mind like a large river.

Harry nodded as he made a decision that would change both their lives for the better. Taking a risk on the dream, premonition or whatever it was, plus the fact that she had been obliviated and hopefully would therefore accept what he said as true he spoke quietly, "Yes well as your fiancé I think I should be with you. Those spells suggest that Ron has raped you and if he has then he is going to die for touching my wife to be, and for covering it up Molly is already dead, but her body doesn't know it yet."

Hermione's head shot up a look of total disbelief on her face "What do you mean, I'm your fiancée?" she asked a little loudly.

Harry looked deep into her eyes his look of shock and hurt as realistic as he could make it, "You don't remember? Christmas at Godric Hollow? I asked you at the grave side. What the hell have they done to you? How am I to prove you said yes? Oh I know… do you still have those pretty white knickers, the ones with the three little red bows on? You were wearing them that night, and no before you jump to conclusions we didn't do that, we just did a little cuddling and some rather heavy snogging and petting. I love you more than I can say Hermione, that won't change no matter what they have done to you."

Hermione quickly glanced down to see if her knickers were somehow on display because she was wearing the very one's he was talking about. Looking again at the list of spells she read further down and she saw two more obliviation's, one done by Molly Weasley, and one by Ron. Using her logic just as Harry was hoping she would, she came to the logical conclusion that she and Harry had been a couple, she must have told him of her feelings toward him but her memory of it had been removed. "Harry… what… what if Ron has… raped me?" she asked tears finally able to fall through her shock the fear he may not want her if she were not pure, that she might be pregnant with Ron's child and he would not want her then.

"Hermione love, it won't make any difference to us, I'll still love you just as I did before, and I still want you to be my wife no matter what. I still want the children we planned." Harry said weaving his plan as he spoke. Wrapping her in a hug he looked into her eyes for a moment before he spoke again, "Er Hermione love, I'm not sure if I have my days mixed up but aren't you still on your period, all you need to do is check that your tampon is still properly in place."

The more Harry said the more he seemed to know. That he knew far more about her than she had suspected furthered her belief that they were indeed engaged. His telling her that even if Ron had done what she suspected it would not change how he felt for her bolstered her courage.

Not wanting to delay knowing any longer and yet fearful of knowing at the same time, she took a few deep breaths, then standing right in front of Harry she undid the button on her jeans lowered her zip and slid them down to her knees revealing the knickers he had spoken of. After hesitating for a short time she pulled up her courage and with the thought that being engaged it would not be long before Harry saw far more of her she slid her knickers down to her jeans. Relief flowed through her when she saw the short piece of cotton string hanging from her lower lips. Giving it a tiny gentle tug she could feel the tampon inside her. Knowing that Ron had not actually raped her because he could not have done so and put the tampon back she looked up into Harry's face. His eyes seemed to be locked on the small triangle of neatly trimmed hair at the top of her legs and she suddenly let out a chuckle.

"I'm ok Harry, you can put your tongue back in now, and Harry I'll make sure you see far more of me in a couple of days. I want to… really we should … you know consummate our marriage after the wedding, but I want to make sure you are my first. It's obvious that as a muggle born, and with people like the Weasley's around we can't guarantee that. We should consummate before the wedding, at least if I get pregnant before the wedding then I… we will know the child is yours."

Harry managed to raise his eyes to look at her a moment before she pulled her clothes back where they should be. He was now a little less worried about the rest of the premonition/nightmare, knowing that the odd tit bit of knowledge about her knickers and her period had been correct, though where that had come from he had no idea, he decided to tell her what else he knew of the coming afternoon and evening events. He sounded quite confident as he spoke even though he was praying he was right to rely on what he had seen of the future events in the dream that had had him waking in a cold sweat and shaking like a blade of grass in a gale.

"Hermione love, what I am about to say is going to be a shock if you don't remember it, but I want you to be calm and let me finish before you panic or something… in about half an hour or so… I have to go out to the forest; according to Dumbledore's portrait… I have to let Riddle hit me with the killing curse. I have to let everyone see me supposedly dead. When Riddle starts to show off my dead body and brag, I need you to keep your head when it happens.

The last thing I want to do when I wake up is to find you among the dead, I will not have my wife being dead when we get married. All you need remember is Riddle can't kill me, he can and will knock me out for a short time but that is all. If Dumbledore was alive I would kill the old fool… the portrait told me the stupid old fool was holding a bit of info back. The last horcrux… it's here in this damn scar, when he tries to kill me he will just destroy the horcrux. I promise I will be fine, well maybe a bit bruised but I'll be ok and I'll be able to finish him off while he is still suffering the shock of me being alive."

Hermione looked aghast as she heard and his words registered in her mind, a moment after he had finished speaking she threw her self at him and they were kissing passionately.

Almost two hours later the events Harry had told her about had happened and she was standing watching as Harry and Riddle circled each other. She prayed fervently that Harry had been correct and Riddle was now mortal, prayed that Harry survive this last fight with the evil he was facing, she dared not blink as Riddle sent a curse at Harry watching as it rebounded and the evil that called itself Voldemort dropped dead.

Hermione woke in the early hours of the following morning, thoughts of what had happened the previous day, and the long hours of passionate snogging with Harry before they fell asleep together ran through her mind. The idea that she had thought that Ron could eventually take the place of Harry in her heart seemed completely ludicrous in the early morning light. She wanted some revenge on the Weasleys but she did not want Harry killing them, she knew that would play on his mind and eventually send him crazy.

As she lay in the bed with Harry still asleep next to her she formed a plan for their revenge that would leave the Weasleys physically unharmed. She smiled a huge smile when Harry pulled her tight to his sleeping body whispering her name in his sleep. For a few moments she wondered what he might be dreaming of and then she felt something pressing into her thigh that let her know what his dream was about. Gradually she drifted off to sleep again, a huge smile on her face.

Having woken Harry early they had gone down to the great hall. There they found Molly Weasley completely alone. They suffered her suffocating greeting for a few moments before Harry cast a binding charm on her. Ten minutes later Hermione had smiled as she finished removing all memories of both herself and Harry from Molly's mind. They left the completely confused woman sitting in the great hall and went in search of Ginny and Ron.

Ginny was easy for them to deal with as she was still in bed, so Hermione carried out their plan to remove her memories of ever being Harry's girlfriend.

Having found and forced the truth out of Ron about what he had done the previous day and he admitted that he had decided that he wanted to know what it was like to have sex with Hermione in case he did not make it out of the battle. He had chosen Hermione as an easy available target but had been caught by his mother before he could do anything more than partially remove her jeans. He complained that his mother told him he had to wait until the battle was over before he could have his way with Hermione just as they had arranged it.

Ronald Weasley was far worse off than his sister and mother when they had removed all his memories of her and Harry. Something that Harry had not expected was, Ron could not remember a single thing that they had taught him, or made him study. None of the spells or charms they had learned together were still in his memory. Not even the ones learned while at Hogwarts, right from their first year.

Ronald Bilius Weasley was not much better at magic than he had been in his first year at Hogwarts. It seemed like some sort of justice for Hermione, the red headed fool would never be able to pass his final exams or get a job unless he went back to Hogwarts and started out as a first year once again. The fool could only remember the odd lessons he had when neither Harry nor Hermione were in the class.

It was a rather sorry bunch of Weasleys who left the castle. Their minds confused and full of sorrow, to return to the Burrow to bury their dead son/brother.

Harry and Hermione left the castle to visit Hermione's childhood home to check it out, see if the death eaters had been and destroyed it. They discovered it as she had left it almost a year before. Spending a week at the Granger home, and losing their virginity in Hermione's bed had been a small respite in their busy lives. Their next stop was a visit to Australia to find the adult Grangers. After that they dedicated some time to finding and removing from the world the Malfoy family.

Exactly one year to the day they had left the castle they returned and were married in the great hall. It was revealed to them that Molly Weasley was a patient at St Mungo's, she had gone crazy for unknown reasons.

Ron Weasley had enrolled in Hogwarts as a first year once again, and Ginny had left for America with Dean Thomas.

That night as a very happy and exhausted Harry finally lay back to sleep with his wife, he once again thanked the one who had sent him the dream/premonition thingy, and sighed a contented sated sigh. He had what he had always wanted and he was not at all ashamed of how he had got it all, he looked at his sleeping wife and nodded, his happiness showing in his eyes. Fairly soon they would have their first child. Both he and Hermione were now both truly happy with their lives.

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	24. Chapter 26 Dangerous to be around

Disclaimer….. All characters are the copyright of JK Rowling

A/Note, I have taken the liberty to borrow various ideas from stories I have read over the years and with some changes brought them together in this little one shot. I don't think I have used any of the actual wording from other stories but if I have then I apologise to the original author of those words. Anyone recognising their idea hopefully will note that I thought the idea to good to resist. Thanks for reading…

Though this story features both Harry and Hermione, it is not a Harry and Hermione together story. Oh and Harry is what might be called slightly dark in this one.

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Dangerous to be around.

Five teenagers were practically man handled into the house at number four Privet Drive. Together they were herded up the stairs and across the short landing. Hermione Granger looked in disgust at the locks on the door, and as Remus Lupin reached out to open the door she made up her mind that no matter who Potter had got to help him she would not change her mind, she was also sure that those with her would stick by their decision. They wanted nothing more to do With Harry Potter because he was too dangerous to be around.

As the door opened Mad eye Moody roughly shoved Hermione into the small room, there was but one piece of furniture in the room. A small dilapidated bed was pushed up against the far wall. On the bed was a white sheet that was obviously covering someone. At first glance she wondered if she and her friends were here to talk Potter out of another of his depressive states. She vowed she would not help.

Hermione was grabbed roughly by the elbow and dragged the short distance to the bed, where Remus reached out and pulled the sheet off a very obviously dead Harry Potter. Before she had properly realised what she was seeing Nymphadora Tonks slammed a picture frame into her stomach making her almost double over with the force.

"Here bitch," Tonks said as she forced the picture into Hermione's hands. "It was on his bedside cabinet, I hope you are happy now."

When she had recovered and everything began to register in her mind Hermione glanced down at the photo in her hands. It was a photo of her self and written across it in Harry's scrawl was 'Mrs Hermione Jane Potter'.

"Get them out of my sight," Remus seethed as he gently replaced the sheet over the dead face of his almost nephew.

Hermione could not believe it Harry was dead. She wanted someone, anyone to jump out and tell her that it was all an evil prank, but no one did. As they were being shoved out of the house onto the lawn outside they were faced by their head master and a very angry and distraught Molly Weasley. Molly stormed up to her son and without warning she slapped him so hard he fell on to his back. Molly then turned and faced Hermione and spit into her face. "He was in love with you, and that vile letter you sent killed him." Molly wailed before turning to Ron "You are no longer my son, there will be no more putting up with your self centred jealous tantrums. You are no longer welcome at my home."

"This means the end of our world." Dumbledore said in a quiet voice that all the five silent teens could hear quite well. "The prophecy we were guarding. It was the one that said that Harry was the only one that could kill Voldemort. As long as Harry was alive to fight, the dark lord could not win."

It was a crying Luna Lovegood who was the one who put into words what they were all thinking, "We killed Harry."

Once the order had removed the body from the small room and all of them were gone, Petunia climbed the ladder into the loft, walking carefully on the foot boards laid by Harry she opened a large trunk and looked down into it. "They're gone Potter," she called rather quietly.

She was answered by a sad voice from inside the trunk, "Thanks aunt Petunia. I think it best if I stay in here for a few days until we are certain that they really are gone, I'm sorry for dragging you into this, but I truly am sick of nearly dying every year, I'm sick of those that were my friends turning on me for no reason. Please just three or four days and I'll vanish for good."

Petunia nodded to the young man who was looking up at her from what looked like a large room inside the trunk. She hated magic with all she was, but she and Vernon would put up with it for a few more days to ensure they could finally be rid of it for good. They would allow Harry some time to come to terms with what they had done and then be free of him forever.

Without another word Petunia closed the lid of the trunk and made her way back down the steep ladder and on down to the living room. Harry watched as his aunt closed the trunk lid and then turned around. "Well love seems that my mum was right, Mad eye was not able to see through the trunk."

"Are you all right Harry sweet heart?" a female voice asked from the small kitchen at the far side of the room.

"I will be when we are well away from everything and everyone, away from the lunatics that make up the British Wizarding world." Harry said as he took a seat on the comfortable sofa and placed his feet on the small coffee table in front of him.

"Yeah me too, I'm…" the female voice broke down into sobs that tore at Harry's heart. Harry thought back to just over a week earlier.

Flashback…

'_After receiving a joint letter from the five people he considered his best friends, telling him they wanted nothing more to do with him, and blaming him for their injuries at the Ministry. He had left the house on privet drive afraid that in his state of mind he might actually do some serious damage to one of his relatives, and simply wandered around. He had been walking for about two hours through the town and out in to the countryside to get some peace for his troubled mind when he had heard spells being shouted and the sound of explosions coming to him from over the hedge to his left. Finding somewhere safe to get a look at what was happening had taken him just a few seconds. In front of him, less than a hundred yards away death eaters were attacking a small farm house. Without thought he had pulled his wand out and leapt over a five bar gate that placed him behind the death eaters._

_The battle had been short once the death eaters were taking fire from two directions. One of them had yelled retreat a second before the dark mark was placed above the house. Harry managed to hit one of the fleeing death eaters with a cutting curse before he could get away and the death eater fell to the ground unconscious._

_Harry having bound three of the wounded death eaters had entered the farm house to find that there was only one survivor when he was buried in a tight hug from a crying female before he could see who had grabbed him. Not knowing what else to do he had wrapped his arms around the young woman and simply held her while she cried for her family. They stood like that for quite some time before the crying turned to sobs and then fell silent._

_It was the young woman's rough sounding voice that let Harry know that the tears were over for now. "Thanks Harry, my mum and dad they were outside… they… they never stood a chance."_

_Harry gently pushed the woman away a little "Katie?" he asked as he looked down in surprise._

_Together the two of them waited for two hours for the ministry Aurors to arrive but no one showed up. As it became very obvious to the two teenagers that the ministry were not going to arrive, 'probably because it involved a muggle family' Harry thought. Katie whispered "I can't take this anymore Harry. I don't know how you do it, nearly dying every year forever being injured. I was only injured during quidditch and then this is the first time I've had to fight and use what you taught us, I can't live like this Harry. I can't live looking over my shoulder, always waiting for the next attack… and I have to get away."_

"_Where could you go Katie? If they want you dead they will find you no matter where you hide." Harry muttered feeling rather like he had earlier in the day._

_They were sat in silence for another fifteen minutes when Katie finally said, "They wont find me if they think I'm dead, because they wont even be looking for me."_

_Harry sat up on the couch they were sat holding each other on. "It can't be that bad you would kill your self… can it?" he asked frightened that that was what she meant._

"_No Harry, but I can kill one of those bastards outside. I've been practising my potion making skills as it's the only bloody thing we are aloud to work on thanks to those stupid underage laws. I've been making polyjuice potion this week, I mean if Granger could do it when she was thirteen… well its still in my cauldron. All I have to do is put one of my hairs in some give it to one of those scum outside and then leave the body here to be found with my..." Katie stopped there and began to cry again._

"_Wish I could get away that easy," he muttered to himself._

_Katie heard him but asked anyway, "What was that Harry?"_

_Harry looked at her for several seconds trying to make his mind up what to do, finally he pulled out the letter he had received from his 'best friend' Hermione Granger, and handed it to Katie. She read it several times unable to believe that they could do such a thing to the boy who had saved all their lives more than once. "Those foul traitors." She hissed throwing the offensive letter on the floor. _

_After Harry had picked up the letter and placed it in his pocket then settled down a little, it had taken them an hour to complete and feed the potion to the most severely injured death eater. Who ever the woman was died from the strain the potion put on her body as she changed into a perfect copy of Katie Bell. Katie had a very reluctant embarrassed Harry help strip the body down to the under wear and together they dressed the polyjuice Katie in some of Katie's old clothes._

_Katie suggested that if Harry really meant it when he said he wanted to get away from it all that they should take one of the wounded death eaters to his home and do the same thing there. It did not take Harry long to make up his mind. With a disallusioned bound and unconscious death eater in the back of her fathers' land rover Katie drove them to Privet drive. They saw the Aurors as they finally arrived at the farmhouse just as Katie drove them out onto the main road heading toward Little Whinging._

_It took both Harry and Katie quite some time to convince his relatives to help them escape from the world of magic. Katie's harrowing story of what had happened at her home had been the deciding factor. Uncle Vernon did not want any criminal wizards attacking his family, which they would not do if Harry was found dead._

_The now Harry look a like death eater was dressed in Harry's clothes, which Katie had insisted on changing, including the underwear to make it believable, Helped by Vernon they lay the death eater in Harry's bed. Just as Harry was about to cast a fatal heart stopping spell at the death eater they were stopped by his aunt._

"_Harry this isn't going to work, who ever is supposed to be watching you is out there right under this window and they will be in here before you get a chance to get away, then we will all be in trouble… unless your mother was serious about… Harry come with me quickly."_

_Petunia had taken Harry up to the attic and after a little rummaging around she showed Harry a large trunk. "Your mum gave it to me said it was a holiday flat, I always thought she was joking so I never bothered to open it but after what I have seen since you came to live here, I'm not so sure."_

_Katie opened the trunk and looked down on a small flight of stairs. "It's true Harry, it's a small home in here."_

_On the inside of the lid was a list of what the trunk held and what it was capable of. There was a one bedroom flat with bathroom and toilet. But according to the list it was impervious to all detection methods known. So that magic could be used even in a muggle area._

_A quick change in their plans had Harry and Katie spending a week together in the trunk, while the still bound and unconscious death eater was kept in the bed room except when Katie cast some healing charms on him. It took them the week to hopefully come up with a fool proof plan and then set the plan in motion._

_The week together had completely changed the relationship between the two teens. After just one night on the couch and suffering for the whole of the next day with a back ache Harry was ordered by Katie to share the double bed with her. They had not had sex together but they had eventually done some rather passionate snogging and petting and were no longer shy at being seen naked by each other._

_Their plan was simple, they would live in the trunk until Mundungus Fletcher or one of the less attentive order females was watching the house and then they would rid the world of another death eater and with some luck gain their freedom._

_The day Harry was to die Vernon was at work and Petunia was at home looking out for their order guard. Once the guard who turned out to be Hestia Jones was spotted their plan was set in motion. The healed death eater was then fed the remaining polyjuice potion and Harry cast the heart stopping curse. The letter he had received from his former friends was left on his pillow and with that done he rapidly joined Katie in the trunk. His aunt pushed the attic ladder up and out of sight before Hestia Jones entered the house in a rush. She found Petunia leaving the bathroom, before rushing to Harry's bedroom where she discovered a very dead Harry James Potter._

_Harry thought it rather funny that in their almost panic like state not a single member of the order mentioned the fact that his first friend after Hagrid was no where in sight. Hedwig had been sent with a very confidential letter and a will to Gringotts. The letter was to inform the Goblins that stories of his death at anytime in the following two weeks would be a gross exaggeration about the state of his health. He informed them that he needed to get away to a secret property where he could train for his future confrontation with Voldemort and to ignore any reports of his death unless the enchanted will activated an alarm._

_He had given Hedwig instruction to find him in a week or so and that she was to stay away from Privet drive completely. Hedwig had done as she was asked and simply vanished._

End flashback…

Taking the trunk Harry and Katie had left England on the day of 'Harry's funeral' while just about all the British witches and wizards were either at the ceremony or sat at home listening to it on the wireless. The five former friends of Harry Potter were not allowed to attend the burial, having been denied access by the minister of magic himself.

...

Harry had been married to Katie for two years to the day and had a gift in his pocket for her, he was eagerly looking forward to the evening he had planned. Opening the front door to his and Katie's home he found himself facing a room full of the witches and wizards who had once been his best friends. Witches and wizards who he had once thought of as his family but who he now hated.

Ignoring them he calmly walked across the room to Katie and bent to give her a kiss, "Happy anniversary love." He said before he turned to the wizard to his right. "Remove that wand from my wife's face beast," he said in an icy cold voice.

Harry was ignored by Remus Lupin who gave him an angry glare, before he had moved again he was addressed by the one witch he had come to hate above all. "Harry Dumbledore sent us, we need you to return home and help us."

Harry looked at her with a cold glare "Get out of my house Granger or you and your minions are going to die."

"Harry we are your friends, we all know you would not hurt your friends and now we have tracked you down and are here, be a good boy and pack your things," Hermione said in a condescending voice.

Katie watched as her husband reached to his back and gave him self a scratch. Knowing exactly what his move meant she prepared to throw herself on the floor. Harry turned away from Hermione and glared at Remus, "Look animal I told you to remove that wand from my pregnant wife's face, you have just three seconds to do so, if you do not... you can take it from me you will never regret it."

Remus Lupin gave Harry a really hate filled look but kept the wand pointed at Katie's face. None of the witches or wizards knew exactly what happened as Harry moved so quickly, pulled a pistol from the back of his trousers and with a loud crack the back of Remus Lupin's head burst open and the majority of his brains sprayed them. Several more loud cracks left two more wizards on the floor with rather large holes in their bodies.

By the time the remaining three, all witches had recovered from the shock Harry had Hermione by the neck and had his pistol at her temple. "Drop your wands or this evil bitch joins the animal." he growled.

Having seen what had happened to Remus, who had been their best warrior Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood dropped their wands. Hermione's wand was already on the floor. Katie stood up from where she had dropped and commented "Can you take the foul bitches outside dear, this mess is really going to take some cleaning." As she spoke she moved carefully around the room and collected all the fallen wands. "Are you slipping Harry, these two turn coats are still breathing." She said as she removed Ron Weasleys wand.

A terrified Hermione had tears falling as she asked "Harry, we are your friends. What has happened to you, this isn't you? You aren't a murderer."

Harry pressed the pistol a little harder into her head. "No bitch I'm not a murderer, never have been, never will be, but if you have just a little amount of brain left in your head you will remember 'I will kill' to protect my family and those I think of as such. None of you fit that description. You threatened my pregnant wife."

"Take the filth out and dispose of it Harry love, its making a right mess on my clean floor, I'll have to go take a pee, these bastards have held me here all afternoon so I'm getting a bit desperate." Katie said as she handed him their wands.

"Right love," Harry said as he let go of Hermione and pushed her forward "You three pick up your trash and get it out of my house." He said waving his gun to help with his directions.

Between them the three witches managed to get the wounded Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom on their feet and made to move toward the front door. Harry stopped them when he announced "Trash goes out the back door," he then forced them out of the house and into the back garden.

Harry was standing watching as the three witch's man handled the two wizards into the back of a rusty old trailer when Katie joined him and spoke. "Harry the dead wolf needs to be removed. I'll watch the scum while you get the foul beast out of my house."

As Harry entered his house Katie displayed her own pistol before she spoke to Hermione. "You really are some stupid sort of fool Granger. My husband would have done anything for you, if you had asked him to he would have killed himself for you, he loved you that much. But that was before you sent him that foul letter, why the hell they called you the brightest witch of the age I do not know.

Are the bloody five of you to dumb to remember that all of you had already told the whole school what happened at the ministry before we left for the summer. I remember you standing in the common room bragging oh so proudly of how you had followed Harry and fought with him even though he told you not to go. Do you remember that Granger, do you remember that he lost his only living family connection that night. Of course you do, but as always I bet you were totally stupid and listened to that coward Weasley in blaming Harry for your own short comings.

You chose to listen to the one who was always making you cry, the one who actually bragged about how much he hated you when Harry was not around to hear him. If you don't believe me ask anyone who was in Gryffindor with us that isn't a damn Weasley, or a Weasley suck up like Longbottom who wants to get in to the ginger brooms knickers.

As for now… well Harry would not pee on a wizard if he was on fire. You betrayed a man who loved you with all his heart and that betrayal killed that love, and turned it to hate, pure unadulterated hate for you and the world you so worship. I can guarantee the next fools that dare come for him will die before they have chance to speak."

As Hermione stood listening to a woman who had once been a good friend, all the denial she had built up in her head since she sent that letter to Harry collapsed and she was left with just the truth of what they had done. To hear Katie say that Harry had once loved her so much, and now hated her, hurt her so much deeper than anything she had ever felt before and she could not hold back the tears.

She was still crying when Harry returned and forced them to climb into the back of the land rover the trailer was attached too. "Katie be a dear and drive, we'll drop them at the bridge." Harry said as he climbed in behind the witches his gun still pointed at them.

It took them thirty minutes to reach the bridge Harry had chosen. When the witches were once again standing with Harry holding them at pistol point he told them to drag the two wizards and the werewolf out of the trailer. "Right strip, take off all your clothes, and I mean everything, strip those three first," he told them icily.

The three witches could not believe what they were hearing and Ginny even refused, until a bullet hit the soil right next to her foot. "I said strip, remove every stitch." He said pointing his gun back at Hermione.

"Harry you can't mean it!" Hermione declared wide eyed at what he was telling them to do.

"Oh I mean it Granger, it's either that or a bullet like the beast got, I'm taking no chances on one of you having a port key hidden away somewhere. So STRIP."

Once all three of the witches and the three wizards were completely naked Harry made Hermione put everything into the trailer. As he climbed into the back of the land rover Harry looked back at the witches who were standing there stark naked, "With a gorgeous body like that you could have been a fine mother for my children Hermione, pity you are such an authority loving cowardly traitorous bitch. Ok Katie love lets go."

Having no clothes and no wands between them to transfigure something into clothes, Hermione completely naked, left Luna and Ginny taking care of Ron and Neville while she went off in search of something to wear and hopefully someone to help them. It took her two hours to find a farm building with some clothes left out on a washing line. Having stolen the clothes she then went in search of the local wizards, with the hope of obtaining a wand. All the time she had been walking she could not stop thinking of how things might have been had she not listened to Ron and Ginny. She pictured in her mind what it would be like to be married to the best friend she had ever known, what it would be like to be the mother of his children. It was with tears still falling that she eventually found a wizard who helped her.

Three days later Hermione Jane Granger was completely broken hearted after asking Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, and Alicia Spinnette if Ron had bragged about how much he hated her. She was informed that everyone in Gryffindor knew just how much he loved to hurt her and make the 'know it all bitch' cry, and he boasted about it when she and Harry were not around. No one had ever told them because of how much Harry loved her and they were afraid he would have killed Ron.

Alicia said the one thing that really hurt her "Why would you become so evil and destroy such a kind hearted loving person like you did?"

Hermione truly regretted ever listening to the Weasley's youngest son, and threatened to pay him back some day, after he got out of the hospital. She came to know that day some of the hurt Harry must have felt, and all her feelings toward Ronald Weasley turned to the same kind of hate she had for Draco Malfoy.

After telling Dumbledore their reports on what had happened when they illegally went to Spain with orders to get Harry back to Britain, no matter what they had to do. The old man had once more realised he had made another huge mistake in thinking Harry would instantly forgive his former friends for their betrayal. He had also made a mistake in not giving clear orders, he had never thought that the team he sent would hold Harry's pregnant wife at wand point as a prisoner in her own home and expect Harry to come willingly. He had never expected Remus to hold an unarmed pregnant woman with a wand pointed at her face where even the mildest of spells would have caused damage. He could not blame Harry for the death of the last marauder because he too would have killed the man given the same circumstances. On top of it all he could not figure out why Weasley and Granger did not remember how Harry reacted when his friends and family were threatened or in danger.

Again the old man wished that he had told the young Harry what he had needed to know, if he had then the fiasco at the ministry would never have happened, his friends would have never betrayed him and he would have stayed to rid the world of Tom Riddle. Now he knew after their last show of stupidity that Harry Potter would never return to their world. He had wasted three years of their resources searching for Harry after discovering that his Gringotts vaults were still active, three years in which they should have been helping people who needed the help and not searching the globe for a saviour they should have known they had already alienated.

Killing Voldemort and his minions was left to the magical world, after Dumbledore had gone to the ICW cap in hand and begged for their help. It had taken a further year for them to destroy all the evil that was created by Voldemort.

Hermione had left the magical world and was no longer the same woman she had been. Hurt and regret stayed with her as she was sent pictures every so often by Katie Potter. Always it was pictures of Harry's four children, most of the pictures had a very happy Harry playing with his sons as they grew up. And they always reminded her of the life and love she had so stupidly thrown away.

Disowned by his family Ron Weasley became an out cast once his brothers had learned what he had done. They had quickly spread the truth to their world of why Harry Potter had left them. The story of Ron turning Harry's friends against him, in their fourth year at Hogwarts because he was jealous Harry was in the tri-wizard tournament, of his turning Harry's best friend and almost girlfriend Hermione Granger and his other close friends against Harry after the battle of the DoM, and at every opportunity he got Ron was always trying to turn people against Harry, the story spread through the world of magic like fire and the red head found himself blamed for the many deaths that followed the chosen one leaving their world. Driven out of the world of magic he finally had had to live in the muggle world practically without being able to use his magic.

Ginny Weasley who since she had been five years old wanted to marry the boy who lived, and had told any who would listen how they were soul mates, finished her time at Hogwarts friendless and lonely. She was never asked on a date as the other girls were because of the way she had treated Harry, the boy she had always boasted would one day be her husband. No other boy wanted a girlfriend who would very likely betray them.

Luna Lovegood, with out her only friend Harry, sank back into her imaginary world of none existent creatures and failed all her exams, and ended up dropping out of school.

Neville Longbottom could not take all the animosity and lost what confidence Harry had helped him develop. His Gran eventually lost any faith in him becoming a decent head of the Longbottom family and was quite happy to say so, even in public.

Harry and Katie cleaned up the mess in their house, placed a 'for sale' sign up and then took a portkey to Japan. From there they took another portkey to their final destination. Back to Spain in a house just five hundred metre's from where they had lived when the order found them. They knew that if anyone came after them they would find traces of the portkey and its destination. They were quite certain that not a single wizard alive would ever search their old neighbourhood for them. Anyone looking for them would head for Japan and could spend the rest of their lives and never discover where the Potters had gone from there.

On their third anniversary Harry took Katie and their little girl Ann Marie to visit some relatives of the Bell family in Paris, but that's a small adventure to be told another time.

...Till the next time, bye.


	25. Chapter 27 Destroying the locket take 2

Disclaimer. As usual I don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters, things, or animals, that are mentioned in the Harry Potter books.

A/Note 1, if you don't like the Ron character returning to the tent as though nothing had happened then you might enjoy this.

A/Note two, I would like to remind the readers to check out the summaries before complaining about these chapters being repetitive. Thank you.

A slightly different take on Ron's return to the tent.

Hermione Granger had stepped out of the tent with a mug of tea for Harry who was doing guard duty. Finding him missing she had almost gone into a panic, but the seeing his footsteps in the snow leading away from the tent made her courage come to the fore. Harry might be I trouble, he might need her help. Although she was unarmed apart from a heavy piece of wood she picked up she followed his footsteps keeping her self concealed as much as possible.

She ended up stood hidden behind an oak tree trying to see who the other person with Harry was. The small amount of moon light in the wood slightly increased as she watched Harry open the locket they had carried with them for months. She then saw who was with Harry as the half moon above became free of the drifting clouds. 'Ron Weasley' former best friend, the one who had hurt her so much by simply leaving her, deserting both herself and Harry thanks to his petty jealousies and bad temper. Leaving them and running home to mummy for a decent meal, and then she heard Harry tell Ron to stab it quickly.

Not wishing to disturb them as they did something that sounded dangerous, she watched with her breath held as Ron hesitated and two figures appeared out of the Locket they had been carrying around for months. She watched fascinated as a ghostly naked Harry and a naked copy of her self kissed passionately, she heard as Harry said "Ron stab it," and then the Horcrux began to speak as the two figures got more and more passionate.

_"I have seen your heart, and it is mine Ronald Weasley_."

"Don't listen to it!" Harry said harshly. "Stab it!"

"_I have seen your dreams, Ronald Weasley, and I have seen your fears. All you desire is possible, but all you dread is also possible_."

"Stab the bloody thing!" Harry shouted; his voice echoed in the quiet of the night, Ron trembled, the sword point wavered, and Ron gazed down into Riddle's red eyes.

"_Least loved, always, by the mother who craved a daughter...Least loved, now, by the girl who prefers your friend...Second best, always, eternally overshadowed, always so insecure and wanting._.."

"Ron, stab it now!" Harry yelled loud as he could.

Ron raised the sword still higher, and as he did so, Riddle's eyes gleamed scarlet and the Riddle-Hermione spoke.

_"Who would want you, you are nothing, nothing compared to my Harry," said Riddle-Hermione while stroking the ghostly Harry's crotch, "and he is absolutely magnificent in bed."_

Hermione watched it all and as she watched she found herself being turned on and then agreeing with what her ghostly double said about Ron, the double that was doing far more than just kissing Harry; as they slammed their naked hips together over and over the two joined in the flesh. Seeing them doing 'that' together, '_we are looking hot_!' she thought while hoping to see more. It was that thought that finally made Hermione see things clearly and made her mind up for her. She wanted to be held and snogged and shagged like that by Harry, the real Harry.

Ron, she realised would always be a very poor substitute for a man she could live with and love because of all his insecurities, his inability to improve himself, that bad attitude that would be with him always, and his bad temper would always be there, always close to making him dangerous to be around. The realisation came to her again; she had been chasing the wrong man. She knew she could live very happily without Ron, she had been doing it for weeks almost forgetting about him completely, but she had known all along she could not live her life without Harry.

Turning to go back to the tent as the small clearing lit up brighter again as the moon light brightened the thin cloud that had covered it now gone. Ron finally managed to do the simple task asked of him and stab the horcrux. Her head shot back around as she heard Harry saying that he only thought of her as a sister. She almost stormed out of her hiding place to yell at him, but Hermione Granger was a very smart woman, her anger vanished just as fast as it had come, she knew Harry better than he knew himself. One look and she could see in his body language and hear in the pitch of his voice that he was lying to Ron. Looking at Harry closely she found the evidence that he most definitely did not think of her as a sister, young men did not get huge bulges in the front of their trousers looking at their sister. She knew in an instant that Harry was only saying things to placate the red haired one, the one who was not needed.

As quick as she could, unseen by the two men she raced back to the tent, a plan forming in her mind as she ran. Entering the tent she rushed straight to the sink and began to fill it with some warm water along with a conjured white bra. A minute later she heard Harry telling Ron to wait outside while he talked to her, it was time to put her hastily put together plan to work and hope it worked. As she heard Harry enter the tent she called to him over her shoulder just a little louder than she would normally do, "Harry love, have you seen the knickers I wore last night, I can't seem to find them. Be a sweetie and take a look under your bed for me will you."

Outside the tent, Ron, just as she wanted, heard every word she said and as usual his temper flared. Storming into the tent he yelled at Harry called him a liar for what he said about Hermione, and then he looked at Hermione, "You slut how could you do that to me?"

Hermione was truly annoyed, she had expected Ron to simply storm off into the darkness again going home to cry at mummy's knee not come into the tent. Still she managed to look shocked as she turned to face the red faced Ron, his anger way past boiling point. "Harry what the heck is 'that' doing here and why is it calling me names. After what it just called me, I tell you Harry, get rid of it, or I leave."

"I came back to be with you, but I can see I'm not wanted. I can see you chose him." Ron yelled at the top of his voice.

Hermione looked at Harry a strained look on her face, "Harry what good is he going to be to you? To us? Its weeks since he deserted us, weeks since I made the choice between you, and he is so slow he is only just beginning to get it. I mean it Harry if you want to keep the git around, then I'm done. I have put up with nearly seven years of him belittling me and hurting me making me cry, and he really upset me showing just how little he thinks of us when he deserted us, just so he could go home to mummy for some food. I know you're not gay Harry, so why do you cling to the jerk the way you do and… You're… not gay are you? Because if you are it would explain why you put up with his constantly letting you down, turning his back on you and all the other dumb stuff he pulls."

Harry was confused, he knew that when bringing Ron to the tent that Hermione would be angry at Ron, but he thought that they would simply have one of their arguments and then she would forgive him. After which they would get together as a couple and be happy. He had actually dreaded them getting together for a long time and after seeing what the horcrux had shown Ron he now knew why. A quick memory of how turned on he had been to see the naked Hermione kissing an equally naked Harry Potter made up his mind. Hermione was his mate, his life partner. She was the one he really loved with all he was, she was everything.

"No Hermione, no I'm not gay, and I don't have a clue why I put up with him except he was my first friend." He told her smiling nervously because that memory of what the phantom images were doing had caused a reaction in his pants again.

Hermione looked at Harry as if he had gone crazy, while at the same time taking note of the reappearance of the bulge in his trousers when he looked at her. "Harry love, I know you never had a friend before Hogwarts, but even you must know that some greedy git eating all your treats like he did on that first train ride was not being a friend. A bully who stopped other people befriending you like he tried with me, Neville, Dean, and Seamus is not a friend. The way he treated you like he did second year with the Slytherin thing, third year when he tried to get you to stop being my friend over a broom that was not even his business, I don't even need to mention fourth year do I, those are not the actions of a friend Harry. Those are the actions of someone using you for some reason."

Hermione was quite shocked at what she had said in her rant as she suddenly realised everything she said was true. '_How the hell could I have thought I fancied someone like that' _went through her mind as she saw Harry going through the same realisation she had just undergone.

She did not need to say more as Harry said "We don't need you Mr Weasley. and I haven't forgotten that look of utter hate you gave when you left before, not sure if I could trust you if you lose your temper again."

Ron looked angry still, but there was a large element of disbelief creeping onto his face. "Hermione… I thought… I mean… I thought you liked me."

Hermione looked at him for a few seconds before she spoke "How can anyone ever like you, you treat everyone like something you stepped in, or someone you can use. No I put up with you, and your disgusting manners, your idle lazy ways that's all."

"But last year, you were jealous about Lavender," Ron said his anger vanishing and he was beginning to sound like a whiny child.

"No Ron, not jealous, down right annoyed because I knew you were using the girl... Now Harry love, about my knickers…" she said turning away from Ron and lifting the wet bra from the sink and hoping that Harry might even believe the bit about their previous year.

"Mr Weasley… er Ron, what Hermione says about you is true, and I should have seen it before. So if you don't mind leaving now… oh and don't come back, we don't have the food to cater to your greed." Harry said pointing at the doorway.

Ron looked defeated he knew if Hermione was not willing to forgive him then Harry would not want to have him around either. As he left with his shoulders slumped knowing he had screwed up royally. His two former friends watched him go; it surprised both Hermione and Harry as they watched him leave to know they had absolutely no sympathy for the red haired ex-friend at all. Both of them had finally seen the kind of superficial person Ron Weasley really was. Both of them had realised that he had never really been of any help to them in any of their adventures. Except maybe in that one game of chess during first year.

Harry pulled Hermione in to a hug as they watched Ron walking away and out of the wards they had erected around the tent. "He's not really who we thought he was, is he?" he asked her as she pulled herself tight against him.

"Harry, what have you got in your pocket that is pressing into my stomach?" Hermione asked as she pressed her self against him a little more, pleased that the thing pressing in her stomach was getting larger, Harry was not in anyway thinking of her as a sister, and she swore to her self she would see it stayed that way.

Smiling at the look on his face she whispered into his ear, "About my knickers, how would you like to see the ones I'm wearing now?" her smile grew as she felt the thing pressing hard into her stomach gave a very strong twitch.

"I'd like that very much he said as he kissed her for the first time. It was a little hesitant at first but they were soon making the image Harry and Hermione look rather tame in comparison. Twenty minutes later they were making love for the first time, and they both knew it was not going to be the last time. They had grown up together and they now intended to grow old together. Hermione wore a huge smile, what Harry was doing to her would most definitely be illegal to do to a sister.

...-...


	26. Chapter 26

After the battle repeated.

Fifty two year old Harry James Potter noticed the look of regret in his best friends eyes as she bid him goodnight and followed her husband out of Potter manor and headed home. '_If only I could tell her, but it would just make her hurt worse to know. Besides there is nothing we can do now, there is no divorce in this foul world of magic.'_ He thought as he tried to bury the pain of watching her leave with another.

Harry sat in his favourite chair in his study and poured himself a small glass of brandy. "How could they do that to us?" he asked himself for the thousandth time since his son had made the discovery. As he sipped at the brandy he was disturbed by a knock on the door. "Enter," he called knowing it would be his eldest son who had been his only visitor over the past few years.

"Hello dad… er I have some news for you… I have found an answer to your …er our problem… thing is it will mean the end of Albus and Lily, as well as myself, which is really the only drawback for you as I see it." The younger man said as he sat and poured himself a drink of the brandy.

"What are you talking about James? What problem?" Harry asked as he finished his brandy, "We don't have any problems, except your brother and sister have not spoken to me since your mum passed away. They still blame me for being away when she was attacked in Diagon by Malfoy."

James took a large gulp of his brandy before he spoke quietly. "Well ever since I discovered that you and aunt Hermione were split up by being potioned on Amortentia by the bitch who calls her self my grandmother, I have been seriously considering things. Since I lost Julie I decided that I shouldn't be here… none of us should be really here, not Lily, Albus or me, it was never really meant to be. I think that's why none of us can find a life mate… with the love you have for each other you and aunty Hermione should have been together. So with help from the Goblins I have discovered a way to change the past… I think that we can trust the Goblins in this, they even had help from Ragnok… isn't he the one who discovered that Dumbledore had stolen much of your fortune, Ragnok took such great trouble to get you everything that old thief had stolen back?" he said as he finished refilling his glass.

Harry picked up what James was telling him instantly and declared "James son, we can't do that… it would mean that you would not get born, not to mention that twot Hugo, and what about Rose? No we can't do that."

James looked at his father with his eyes almost burning. "Dad Hugo is an almost exact copy of that fat ape Weasley, and Rose isn't much better the way they treat their mother because of how the hag as poisoned their minds against muggleborn, besides like I said we were never really meant to be, and if we were then I would rather be the son of Hermione not some bitch who had to use a potion on you, at least Hermione's honest and would have never even contemplated dosing you with a potion just so she could boast about being Mrs Harry Potter. Anyway I have the machine ready in our family vault. We have it all ready to go, Ragnok has two dozen Goblins ready to power it for you… You should do this dad, especially for aunty Hermione, she deserves so much better and she's been so very miserable married to that ruddy fat bastard you call friend. I see it every time she looks at you, the suffering she is going through, if you do nothing she will have to suffer that awful life for at least another hundred years, it'd such a long time to live in misery dad."

Harry sat with his mouth open as he thought over his sons words, Hermione would indeed have to suffer being married to the obese man that his friend Ron had become. James had been practically suicidal since his girlfriend since their third year at Hogwarts Julie had died in an accident at work. His two other children had all but disowned him. The very idea of being married to Hermione started his thoughts racing, all the things that they could have accomplish together, they could have changed this foul world. After another glass of brandy Harry looked at James and asked, "Will this work and when do you want to do this?"

James smiled "Tonight dad, there is no time like the present, '_or at least before you change your mind_' he thought. The quicker we do this the sooner you can reveal to Hermione what the Weasley hag was doing." He answered excitedly. "We can't send you back very far because of the power required but according to Ragnok we can send you back to a few minutes after you finished Riddle, hopefully I'll get to be your son again and get to be with my Julie, then hopefully you will be also able to prevent her premature death. I think that's how you will know if it's me, you know if your son and Julie get together."

The thought of being able to save Hermione from her fate, and to give him self the life he had so wanted and then convincing himself that James knew something he wasn't telling, Harry decided to do what his son wanted. It was just a matter of minutes later that Harry and James took a port key to Gringotts. An hour after James had entered his dads study the two men exchanged parting hugs before Harry stepped into the machine.

"OK Mr Potter, don't forget the minute you walk out of the machine you will be here at Gringotts, when you step two paces away from the machine you will transfer to your younger body at Hogwarts. Also remember that Weasley quickly whisked Hermione to the Burrow where she got pregnant thanks to all those foul potions, so you will not have a great amount of time to sort things out." Ragnok told him as his Goblins lined up and held out their hands and fed their magic into the time machine.

Harry felt himself changing as the world around him spun at an amazing speed, when it stopped he found himself in a dark chamber he knew was the Potter family vault. The only light in the chamber was the orange glow coming from the machine that was slowly falling apart and vanishing bit by bit. Stepping quickly from what was left of the machine Harry took one quick look around before he took two steps forward. In a flash that was accompanied by a strange tingling Harry found him self on the stairs out of the entrance hall of Hogwarts. After shaking his head to clear it he thought of James's words and he turned as quick as his tired now seventeen year old body would allow and made his way down the stairs toward the great hall again.

Harry had just reached the bottom of the stairs when the Weasley family left the great hall. In front Arthur was levitating the body of Fred who had died during the last big battle. Hermione was walking with Ron who had his arm around her. Just behind them were Molly and Ginny Weasley. Molly was smiling at Harry even through her tears of grief, her thoughts even after losing a son were on the Potter fortune on how she could get her hands on it for her own family.

Harry called out to Arthur and asked him to wait as he rushed up to them. As he reached them Harry pulled out the elder wand and cast a silent binding spell that tied Ginny, Ron and Molly in thick immovable ropes. "Sorry Mr Weasley as far as I know there is no evidence that you have anything to do with this but I ask you not to interfere for a very short time. Hermione I know you don't understand what is going on here but could you fetch Shacklebolt and if she is still in the hall Madam Pomfrey as quick as you can. I am afraid though I am sure that Mr Weasley is not part of this, I would still like to keep my eye on him for now."

Hermione was completely confused about what was happening, one thing she was not confused by was the fact that she knew Harry did not do anything without a reason. Giving him a quick nod she kissed the trust up Ron on his cheek before she returned to the great hall. While Hermione was gone Arthur was trying to get Harry to tell him what was going on. Harry would only answer "we will both know shortly."

Hermione was gone for some time and it was several minutes before Kingsley Shacklebolt Madam Pomfrey accompanied Hermione out of the hall to the group where Harry was waiting patiently. "Mr Potter what on earth is going on, I have injured people in there to see too." Poppy Pomfrey demanded anger in her voice.

"Sorry Poppy but if I left this until just a half hour later it would be far too late to do anything. Now what I want is for you to cast a love potion detection charm on both me and Hermione. Once Poppy has cast the charm Shack I want the Weasleys arrested, all of them." Harry said with a determined look in his eye.

The look that came over the Weasleys almost negated the need for the charm. The whole all looked guiltily at first Harry and then Hermione. Ron stood there staring at the floor, not daring to look up as he wondered where he had gone wrong, he was positive that he had both Hermione and Harry fully under the potion. Poppy stared at the Weasley family in disbelief as she cast the detection charm. Both Harry and Hermione glowed bright pink though Harry's was fading rapidly.

"Shit they were all in on it… I thought the twins and Arthur…" Harry gasped. He had not wanted to believe the twins would be in on something so evil.

"Potions, you mean all this time… They've been feeding us potions?" Hermione asked as she collapsed to sit on the stairs, her legs having given way from the shock of such a revelation.

"Yes Hermione, I, er I was almost up to the dorm when it dawned on me that there was something wrong. In that tent you and I were getting close again, as close as we had been for the first five years we were together, it happened almost as soon as Ron ran off home to his mummy. I suddenly realised that since he returned to us that closeness we had was simply gone once again… it struck me as odd that normally nothing would get me to walk away at the end of a battle without checking you were ok first. Thinking of talking to Ginny and not you is not normal for me at all, that's when I knew for certain it had to be the Weasleys and potions.

Before Ron returned to us I had stopped thinking of Ginny as attractive, in fact I had begun to wonder why I would ask her out when I already had the most beautiful witch to ever enter Hogwarts as my constant companion.

I knew Ron couldn't brew a potion save his life, gods he can't even brew a cup of tea proper, yet it had to be him feeding us one, so it had to be Molly, who likes to boast about how she potioned Arthur with a love potion. Oh and Shack, I want Ron there to be charged with plotting to rape My girl, and Molly to be charged with having me raped to commit line theft." Harry said as he tied Arthur and George up.

Harry continued as he stepped up to Hermione. "Don't worry Mione, Madam Pomfrey will have a potion for us shortly. From what I know it only takes about an hour for the symptoms to be flushed away." He told the clearly distressed young woman. As Harry finished speaking his elf Kreacher appeared in front of Madam Pomfrey and handed her two vials, which she checked to make sure they were indeed flushing potions before giving one to Harry and one to Hermione.

As the two teens sat on the stairs Harry wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder and said. "I am so glad I worked it out and managed to stop you leaving with them Mione. I figure Ron was planning to feed you a lust potion on the way home so that he could get you in his bed and ending up pregnant. I think it would be his way of ensuring that you would not be taken away from him by me. Him and his vile jealous streak would hate to see me happy. They would have used those ancient laws and forced you to marry him if you were pregnant and refused his proposal. Though we both know that if he made you pregnant you would have married him for the child's sake. Hopefully once that shit is out of you, you will seriously consider marrying me when we reach Australia.

It took almost two hours before the potion was completely out of Hermione's system, two hours where she had paced up and down the Gryffindor common room, alternately yelling what she would do to Ronald Bilius Weasley, and then crying that he would not have done such a thing. She was totally silent for the last half hour, which had Harry worried until she turned to face him and suddenly said "Yes Harry."

Harry looked at her in surprise not realising what she was saying. Lifting his face to look directly into hers from just three inches she smiled widely "Yes Harry, I'll marry you."

She needed no more words as she found herself sharing her very first kiss with the boy she had hoped would one day be hers. Harry had never in either life felt so happy. He grabbed Hermione around the waist and then dragged her around the room in a celebratory dance while whooping like someone gone quite insane.

They spent the whole of the night talking about all that had happened, what they were going to do and when they were going to leave to retrieve her parents, which was something she had not done in his previous life thanks to the Weasleys. By the early hours their plans were made and they both went to Harry's bed to sleep. Harry drifted off with the promise of a completely new and happy future, Hermione cuddled up at his side.

Two weeks later with help from Shacklebolt Harry presented the case against the Weasleys in the Wizengamot. The ministry had seen to Fred's funeral which no one attended due to his part in the plot against the two wizarding worlds greatest heroes. The Weasleys were found guilty after they all admitted to being party to the vile plan to get their hands on the Potter heritage. Ron was sentenced to fifteen years along with Molly, the rest of them were all sentenced to five years each for their participation.

Two hours after the trial Harry and Hermione caught a plane to Australia, along with Andromeda and Teddy Tonks their godson. They fully intended to start their new life as a married couple by spending a couple of years away from Britain as the magical world settled down again.

As it turned out they spent five years in Australia and did not return to Britain until Hermione had their first child, a boy who they named Richard James who was two years old when they travelled back by ship. Andromeda remained in Australia for a further two years her health benefiting greatly by the far warmer weather.

Both Harry and Hermione attended Muggle College and went on to dentistry school then eventually they joined the older Grangers at their flourishing dental practice. They had little to do with the magical world until Teddy started at Hogwarts, and then their contact was minimal until their first son attended the magical school.

Richard grew up and at the age of fourteen he brought a girl home to meet the parents. A girl by the Name of Julie who Harry persuaded to change her planned career and in so doing saved her from dying an early death. The Potters two other children Lilith and Henry joined their brother in attending Hogwarts as they each reached their eleventh birthday.

Both Harry and Hermione Potter led very happy and content lives, living past the age of one hundred and fifty. Both were given what was basically a state funeral when they finally passed on.

...


	27. Chapter 27

Filius sacrifice.

Filius Flitwick had been a professor at Hogwarts School for the past forty years, the last five of which he had devoted all the spare time he had on a single project. He had devoted himself to the single task since the day he had been informed he had a terminal illness. That piece of news had given him the incentive he needed to find a way to help his most favoured student of those long years teaching.

Knowing he had but a few days left before his disease killed him he was out celebrating at the Hogshead pub. What he was celebrating was his success. He finally had the solution to the task he had set himself those five years ago, and he intended to complete the task on the coming Saturday. He begged the gods to allow him a few more days, although two weeks would be better, and then he would be happy to take his journey to his final rest. Downing his glass of whiskey he made his way to the door of the pub, stopping to say goodbye to the current owner. "Take good care of that wife of yours Seamus and I hope that boy of yours gets sorted into Gryffindor along with young Potter and that Hugo Weasley, make the full house eh?" With those words Filius tapped the port key he held and vanished from Hogsmeade for the last time.

Richard Granger was a lonely man, he had been since he lost his wife Helen to a snake bite just a few weeks before Harry Potter had come to restore his memories and bring him back to England from Australia. He had not seen his only child since the day after his return. They had had an argument over Hermione having sent him and Helen to Australia until their war was over and had not bothered to then carry out her promise to fetch them home, he blamed her for her mother's death.

Lifting up his evening paper as he walked into the cold empty house he was surprised by a voice he had not heard for more than ten years. Looking around he found himself facing Filius Flitwick one of his daughter's former teachers. "Hello Filius, what on earth drags you out here to Oxford?" he asked waving his visitor inside.

Just five minutes later the two sat on the two armchairs in front of the fire sipping a cup of tea. "Richard, some five years ago I learned something that angered me more than I had ever been before. I was left feeling sick inside because I thought there was nothing that I or anyone could do about it as it was far too late. That was until a few months later when Minerva and I were doing some reminiscing, what we were talking about gave me an idea. I said nothing, at first because my idea seemed almost beyond the realms of possibility, and then because I kept failing at what I was attempting. Two days ago I finally had a break through. After five years I found the answer.

This is not something that I can do alone; I will need help… your help. Now Richard I need you to hear me out because this is about Hermione. I know how you feel about your daughter but what I have to say might just change your mind."

Richard slowly placed his cup on the coffee table before looking in to Filius's eyes. "I know that you all know what she did, and what happened because of her, you being here must be something important that's the only reason I am going to listen to you so it had better be good Filius."

Filius wrung his hands together and took a deep breath before he told his tale. Richard learned for the first time what had happened all those years ago, how it was not Hermione's fault and that Harry had suffered the same fate that had changed Hermione. "… and so I obtained that time turner that Minerva allowed Hermione to use back during her third year. It has taken me five years to develop a charm. Now I have not been able to do any significant tests because of the magic required I can use but once, but if you are willing to try this then I am willing to perform my last charm to help you, Harry, Hermione and Helen."

Three hours later having used his entire magical core to send Richard back in time, Filius watched Richard faded away, he prayed he had got every thing right, and then closed his eyes and as the last of his magic left him he silently passed on to the next great adventure.

An old grey haired Richard Granger opened his eyes to find himself in his home as it had been during the first year he had been in Australia. Hermione had done an excellent job of storing their belongings and securing the house. He set about setting him self up in residence once again before he set about the task he had returned to undertake. First he needed to find out what the date was, and so he set off to wander to the shops to purchase him self a news paper.

Richard was quite excited as he looked at the date on the news paper, It was May the second nineteen ninety eight. "Well done Filius, you were spot on old friend. I hope this port key works, six thirty you said wasn't it old friend, that'll give me enough time to get something to eat before I go and try to do what must be done to put things right."

Having bought himself a chicken curry to take home Richard walked home slowly and worked out a plan of action based on what Filius had told him. He was having a hard time trying to hold back his anger as he waited for the time he would be able to use the port key and discover if it worked after travelling through time, thus allowing him to carry out the plan. At three that afternoon Richard climbed into his attic and opened a large box that contained his army mementoes, carefully sorting through them and removing a dark purple piece of velvet cloth. Closing the box back up he then made his way back down to the kitchen.

Sitting at the table Richard unrolled the cloth and revealed an old service weapon he had acquired from an Argentinean officer during his time in the Falklands. He treated the weapon with an almost reverent care as he cleaned it and then loaded it. As he sat and oiled the weapon he was picturing what he was going to do and what it would be like if it all worked out as he planned.

A very tired Harry Potter swallowed the last of his sandwich as he made his way up the stairs to the seventh years dorm, the bed was calling him after that last fight with Tom Riddle. He was not so tired though that he missed the sound of someone arriving in the dorm by port key. Pulling his wand he slowly opened the door to the dorm. He was truly shocked to see a man who appeared to look like he could be Hermione's grandfather. Without hesitating he cast a binding spell at the stranger.

Richard hit by the spell fell face down on Harry's bed and oddly felt quite pleased, he knew the voice that had cast the spell, he knew it was Harry, a younger Harry, it was the Harry he needed to talk to. Still he needed to be sure so he struggled to speak, "H… Harr… Harry that you?" he managed to gasp through the spell holding him.

Harry recognised the man he had just bound "Mr Granger what on earth?" he said as he removed the spell off the man lying on his bed. "How did you… I thought you were in Australia!"

Richard had a small smile showing as he hugged Harry. "God I am so glad Filius had everything right, where is Hermione and that red head bastards family?" he asked urgency in his voice.

"Hermione… Ron… the Weasleys? what on earth is going on, why are you here?" a confused Harry asked as he helped Richard up off the bed.

"You have been fed a love potion Harry, you and Hermione, that red head bastard and his mother did it. I need to get to Hermione before she makes a huge mistake and lets that shit make her pregnant." as Richard spoke he pulled a vial from his pocket, "here drink this and be quick. From what I have learnt I know he will through the use of that love potion be raping my girl some time within the next hour."

Harry did not hesitate and drank the vial despite there being a risk that this was not Richard Granger. "Down in the great hall, they will still be down there until they sort out what to do with Fred," Harry said as he turned and ran for the door "come on Mr Granger, I have no doubt that Ron would do such a thing, haven't trusted him since he scarpered a few months ago and left us to do the work alone for some weeks."

Together they ran down the stairs despite both of them feeling tired. They just reached the second floor when they saw Ron leading Hermione into one of the old dorms. Richard did not hesitate in pulling out his pistol and fire at the red head. Ron was hit in the shoulder and went spinning across the corridor screaming as he did. Hermione was almost as quick as Richard as she cast a blasting hex toward them.

Harry seeing what Hermione cast dived at Richard and knocked him out of the way of the spell while yelling at Hermione. "Hermione stop it's me, hold your fire, Ron's the one you need to point your wand at."

Hermione was confused but she kept her wand pointing at Harry "What spell did I cast in the tent to stop you and Ron?" she asked her voice shaky knowing that if the boy facing her was Harry he would know what she was talking about.

"The shield charm, you cast it when he pulled his wand on me just before he ran out on us." Harry replied quite calm as he put his wand away and then took the pistol off Richard and placed it on the floor.

"Harry what on earth is going on, why has Ron been shot?" she asked as she moved toward the now unconscious red head.

"Hermione Jane Granger you stay away from that foul beast," Richard commanded as he and Harry walked toward her.

Hermione's eyes went wide as she recognised the man with Harry. "Dad, is that you? How come you look so old? Where is mum?"

Harry reached her and gently pulled her into a hug. "I hope we are in time, have you had sex with that thing?" he questioned her as Richard grabbed Ron by his collar and dragged him into the nearest room. With his arm around her waist Harry led her into the room after Richard.

"Harry that's none of your business." Hermione almost yelled sounding indignant.

Harry persisted and asked again a little anger in his voice, "Well did you?"

Hermione's face was bright red as she replied "No that's what we were looking for a room for, Ron wanted to celebrate, now what the heck is going on?"

"Thank you Filius," Richard said as he passed a vial of potion to his daughter "here drink this Janie girl,"

Hermione hearing her dad's pet name for her took the potion and drank it without question "What did Ron do this time?"

"Love potion sweetheart," Harry told her without realising what he had called her "him and bloody Molly according to your dad, who I now hope is going to tell us what is going on here, how he got here and what professor Flitwick has to do with this."

Richard took a seat on the teachers chair and began to tell them all that had happened to him that day. "So Filius cast a charm that some how used his magical core to drive this time turner, thankfully my old friend had worked everything out correctly. I arrived in this time at just after ten this morning, then in order to arrive here at the castle just after you finished Riddle I used a portkey Filius supplied me with."

"Dad what happened that Filius would sacrifice himself to change?" Hermione wanted to know.

"Well it seems that five years ago Filius discovered that red there had used a love potion supplied by his cow of a mother to take you away from Harry, some time in the next hour he was going to feed you a lust potion and then make sure you got pregnant, so that you would marry him. Ginny would then marry Harry and talk him into allowing red and the cow Molly access to the Potter fortunes. They were all in on it apparently, anyway red would then subjugate you under some sick pureblood laws and that would mean you not coming to restore our memories. Your mum ended up getting bit by the most poisoness snake in Australia just a few weeks before Harry finally came to get us. By that time you had two children and… well my return did not go well and I spent the past ten years alone at the old house in Oxford. Until Filius came with his plan."

Hermione stared at her father for several minutes as she worked it all out, "Tell me dad, did Harry survive for long with Ginny, or did he have some sort of fatal accident?"

"I'm not really sure Janie girl, he came to visit me a few times after we came back here to England, but then he stopped visiting and I had no way of knowing where he was or how to contact him. I tried the old pub you used to use but with out someone magical I couldn't even find the damn place. You really think they would kill him off?" Richard said with a sad look in his eyes.

"Ron and Molly were always jealous of the amount of money Harry has, so I wouldn't put it past her to do such a thing, Ron and Ginny would do what ever she told them. Even tonight I think it was her idea as she kept on about how wonderful it would be to have one big happy family with all her children, her own by birth and those by adoption. Obviously she meant me and Harry." Hermione explained even though she did not want to believe it her self.

"So what happens now?" Harry asked with curiosity about what having two Richards in the world would be like.

Richard looked up at him with a sad smile, "Well according to Filius, if and when those potions fully clear the love potions out of your system, you two will be able to deal with the Weasleys, me well at that time I will simply no longer exist, not exactly the sort of future I ever envisioned for myself, but at least I will go knowing that I saved my baby from a living hell with a foul beast." He told them quietly.

Harry was angry at Ron already and when Richard finished speaking he stood up and went over to the unconscious red head and gave him a shake. He was disappointed when Ron did not wake up. Pulling out his wand he started to cast an enervate charm. He stopped when Hermione told him it would be better to wait and spend their time with her father.

Harry walked back to join them when he noticed that Richard seemed to be getting opaque. He and Hermione sat with Richard as he slowly faded away. Both of them gave him their sincere thanks before he fully vanished into nothing. the only things left to show he had been there at all was a discarded pistol and the bleeding unconscious Ron.

Hermione had tears rolling down her cheeks, but Harry knew they were not tears for her father who had been so brave and strong. They were tears of anger, a fury was building up inside her as she thought of what the Weasleys were going to do to them after they had just fought and won a war so they would be able to live the rest of their lives in peace and freedom.

"She has to die Harry, and I know just how to do it. we will find Shack and we will sadly inform him that Molly Weasley was working against us. We can even swear on our magic without worrying, because she was, that potion she fed you could have sapped enough of your magic to fight off it would have prevented you from beating Riddle. We were just lucky that he was weakened and died from his own reflected curse…" Hermione said then suddenly stopped talking for several long seconds.

Harry looked at her and wondered what it was that she had thought about that had taken her mind off revenge on the Weasleys. He did not have long to wait to find out as she yelled out, "THAT LYING MANIPULATING OLD SHIT!"

"Who? what?" Harry asked confused about how they went from Molly to some man who had obviously done something Hermione was not at all happy about.

"Dumbledore, he bloody lied. The whole prophecy thing was a bloody lie." She said in anger.

"It was a fake, what on earth makes you think that?" he mumbled annoyed at not understanding yet again.

"Riddle, he died by his own spell, he died by his own hand Harry. Think about it, if your stunner had been deflected and hit me who would you say stunned me?" she asked.

"Well me of course if it was me who cast the… oh I see what you mean. It wasn't my spell that killed him, it was his own, so its true the whole thing was just a fake, but why? Why would Dumbledore… never mind I know, he never expected to die when he did. He expected me to weaken Riddle so he could either come to the rescue and get rid of the weakened dark lord or he would be able to kill him if I had actually stayed dead after Tom hit me with that killing curse. Old bastard." Harry said slowly thinking it out as he spoke.

"Come on Harry," she said as she took hold of his hand "Time to make our report to shack. Then we set about destroying that old gits reputation."

"What about the Weasel?" he wondered.

"Leave him there, if he's lucky someone might find him before he bleeds to death, if he survives… well then he has to face us doesn't he." She said coldly.

Harry simply agreed with her with a simple nod of his head, "You want to be my girlfriend?"

Hermione looked at him as they started to head for the great hall, "Yes, I think I'd like that, yes Harry I would love to be your girlfriend." She answered him.

They entered the great hall holding hands, as everyone turned to stare at them Harry pulled Hermione into a kiss. When they broke apart for air they both looked around for Kingsley Shacklebolt. Seeing him at the far end of the hall talking to several aurors they made their way over to him. Harry quickly reported Molly Weasley as working for Voldemort by feeding him potions that reduced his magical ability.

Kingsley not wanting to believe that one of his close friends could do such a thing and yet knowing that there had been more than one who had turned against their friends called over one of the healers and asked that Harry and Hermione be tested for potions or potion residue.

The healer did her diagnostic tests and reported that both teens had been over dosed on a powerful potion that would have drastically reduced their usable magic and so their fighting ability, she also reported that they had recently taken a strong flushing potion of unknown origin.

Kingsley reluctantly arrested Molly Weasley and had her questioned under Veritaserum. She admitted to dosing both of them with a variation of Amortentia, with the help of her two youngest children, she also admitted to supplying Ron with a potent lust potion to use on Hermione when the battle was won.

Arthur disgusted by what his wife had done disowned her and her two accomplices. Orders were given that Ronald Weasley was to be arrested on sight. He was a sad man as he watched his wife led away in magical handcuffs. Ginny still being under age was given a verbal warning, but all the punishment had not hurt her any where near as much as watching Harry kissing Hermione passionately after seeing Molly led away.

Two years later Harry and Hermione had totally destroyed Dumbledore's reputation as they had set out to do, and as they sat in a restaurant celebrating with Helen and Richard Harry asked Hermione to marry him. They were married six months later in a small private muggle ceremony.

They started their family three years later with a little girl they named Rosaline. Together they had a happy if sometimes hectic life as the owners of several book shops, both magical and muggle. Their four children were all home schooled and scored some of the highest marks recorded for both their OWLs and NEWTS.

...


End file.
